


After Everything

by Macavity116



Series: Stormbreaker Trilogy [1]
Category: Stellaris (Video Game), XCOM (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Adventure, Close Quarters Combat, Crossover, Crossover with XCOM 2, Diary/Journal, Female Protagonist, Gen, Indirect References to BIONICLE, Loosely Based on Stellaris, Nuclear Warfare, Original Universe, Politics, Psychic Violence, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Space Battles, Space Flight, Veiled References to Homeworld: Cataclysm, war related violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-07-08 14:32:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 114,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15932402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macavity116/pseuds/Macavity116
Summary: During the Second Hyperspace War, the people of Earth and Partoga stood together as allies against the Invaders. While the galaxy around them burned and died, the two spacefaring civilizations survived at the cost of millions upon millions of their own people being killed and untold devastation inflicted upon the surface of both planets. As the dust settled and time passed the two species completely lost touch with one another. A century and a half later, a Partogan science ship crosses the stars on a mission to reestablish diplomatic contact with their old allies, unaware of the events and forces back home driving their mission in secret.





	1. Beginning at the Ending

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I put together purely for the fun of doing so. While it is primarily a Stellaris story featuring a crossover with XCOM2, you can expect to find some elements of Homeworld: Cataclysm and a small helping of BIONICLE (Generation 1) mixed in here too. 
> 
> I originally posted this story as a blog on the Paradox Interactive forums: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/after-everything-a-stellaris-story.1120114/

The Second Hyperspace War lasted exactly 21 years. When the storm cleared, over 15,000 inhabited worlds had been burned, crushed, depopulated, exploded, silenced, pulverized, shattered, or otherwise annihilated. There was no possible way to count the dead.   
  
During the final battle, fought both on the ground and in the skies above Earth, 15 Stormbreakers, each one the hero of a story I don’t have time to tell you, rose from the island of Kyushu and led the combined forces of every galactic civilization in a colossal offensive against Agamemnon itself.   
  
10 Stormbreakers fell to the Invaders.   
  
4 Stormbreakers vanished and were never seen nor heard from again.  
  
And Jericho stood alone against Agamemnon.   
  
The storm became more intense and vicious than ever before. Their battle shattered planets, killed millions, and caused permanent damage to the Hyperspace Network across the entire galaxy.   
  
And then it was over. Neither Jericho nor Agamemnon remained. The Invaders, having lost their nerve center, became lethargic and vulnerable. All across the galaxy, Invader fleets were outmaneuvered and crushed by forces less than half their size. Within a year, the Invaders were completely purged from all creation.  
  
The war was over, but the damage was still done. The Invaders had destroyed three quarters of all populated places in the galaxy, while Jericho and Agamemnon had disabled every Hyperspace Gate in the galaxy. Without the Network, great star nations like the Kingdom of Partoga, the Levakian Confederation, Amadiio, Vania, the Micore Empire, Kelta, and the United States of Assuria simply ceased to exist.   
  
While the political powers of the galaxy died, tens of millions of tons of battle debris rained down on the Earth. The impacts thrust clouds of dust into the air. Shrouded in clouds, the Earth fell into permanent winter, returning humankind to its isolation from the rest of the galaxy. Unable to call upon their new extraterrestrial allies for help, the people of Earth vanished into silence, and soon, the Sol Star itself became lost.  
  
Which brings us here:  


These battle-scarred planets were once the core of the Kingdom of Partoga. Founded in the year 1515, the Kingdom controlled 116 star systems at the height of its power and also fielded one of the greatest navies the galaxy had ever known. During the Second Hyperspace War, the galactic front line transected the Kingdom's territory. So many battles were fought in Partogan space that the population took shelter in a network of underground bunkers on the Homeworld.  
  
Over a century and a half has gone by since the bunker doors were sealed. After waiting for decades, some Partogans bravely ventured out onto the planet surface and reported that the nuclear winter on the surface was drawing to a close. It was finally safe to emerge from the shelters.   
  
Eventually, the Partogan Royal Space Corps dispatched uncrewed probes into interstellar space to ascertain the fate of the galaxy. This was how the Partogan people learned that they alone had survived the Invasion. The Levakians, Amadii, Vanians, Keltians, Micore, and Assurians were all gone. On top of all that, the Sol Star, home of Jericho and her 14 companions, was nowhere to be found.

A century and a half after Jericho gave herself to the final victory, someone else’s story is about to begin:  
…

On April 30, 2180, this message was broadcast on every radio and television in the Kingdom of Partoga:  
  
**We interrupt this program. This is a national emergency. Important instructions will follow.**  
  
**All stations have interrupted their programming at the request of the Royal Government to broadcast a message to the nation.**  
  
**Standby for a message from the Kuhina Nui of the Kingdom of Partoga:**  
  
“To our good and hardworking subjects, I must bring you terrible news. Our beloved Queen Kendra the Second, the guardian of our nation, has departed this world. She passed on peacefully in the company of her family around 6 in the morning on the 30th day of Paenga-whāwhā, in the 665th year of our Kingdom. She is now in the company of Miranda the Great and her fellow Queens. Our nation has lost its greatest daughter. Our people have lost their mother. Although we knew this day was coming, nothing can diminish our sense of profound and enduring loss.   
  
Her Highness was the driving force behind the reconstruction of our Homeworld. There is no one alive who remembers the Second Hyperspace War of 500-521, but the evidence of the destruction it wrought is omnipresent. Under Kendra’s guidance, we as a people recovered some of what was lost. We emerged from our underground bunkers for the first time since ’21 and saw the light of our sun. We re-occupied the Royal City and a Queen of Partoga sat upon the Emerald Throne for the first time since the war.  
  
We as a people will honor Her Highness. She will lay in state at the Great Library for fifteen days, before being moved to the Unnamed Mountain where the funeral will take place on the 15th day of Haratua. She will be buried in Archer’s Canyon alongside her predecessors: Miranda the Fourth, Miranda the Second, and Kendra the Peacemaker.   
  
In response to the situation, the National Assembly has declared a state of mourning and accordingly has issued the following instructions to the people of the Kingdom: The national flag must fly at half mast, bright colored clothing is prohibited, and all sporting events are cancelled. Weekly church attendance is mandatory for all citizens. This requirement will be enforced by the Green Guard. All girls between the ages of 10 and 15 who have completed the Rite of Passage must give their names to the Priest of their local Church of the Mountain. Again, this requirement will be enforced by the Green Guard.  
  
Our nation stands on the brink of great change. I urge you all to keep your heads held high, cooperate with Church officials and the Green Guard, and most importantly: remain united.  
  
The Mountain be praised.”  
  
**You have just heard a message from Kauri Rangi, Kuhina Nui of the Kingdom of Partoga. This message will repeat until the National Assembly provides new instructions. Please follow the commands of the Green Guard and keep your radio or television tuned to this station for further instructions.**  
  
**All stations have interrupted their programming at the request of the Royal Government to broadcast an emergency message to the nation.**  
  
**We have interrupted this program. This is a national emergency. Important instructions will follow.**  
...


	2. A Seven Year Mission

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Low Partogan Orbit, 29 Hakihea 684.]_   
  
Wow… just…wow… I can’t even… wow.  
  
Wait…is this thing recording? Okay.  
  
Omigoshomigosh… _EEEEKK!_ This is so exciting! Where do I start?  
  
Breathe, breathe. So my name is Mira Mihaka. Mission Specialist Mihaka. Wow, I’ve gotta get used to that. This thing still recording? Right, I’m on board the HMS Midak, hull number AAJJA-15, built by-  
  
**Hey Mira, people don’t want to know the ship’s hull number or who built it. They wanna know about you.**  
  
Oh, right,  
  
**Tell them who you are. What your story is. Or why we're out here.**  
  
Okay, okay! That noisy Brakas back there is Kaia Patariki. But this is MY log, damnit! So, I’m a 35-year-old woman studying astronomy at the Royal Academy of Science.   
  
Was. I was.   
  
My papa is retired now, but he used to work for the Medical Office of the Royal Star Command, and my mama was Queen Kendra the Second. Yeah, yeah, get your questions out now.  
  
**Were you there when she died?**  
  
I don’t want to talk about it.  
  
**So you’re a princess?**  
  
I’m not a princess. I’m an astronomer.  
  
**My parents say the shadow-state killed your mother, and that there’s a cons-**  
  
It was BRAIN CANCER, you Brakas! No conspiracy! No shadow-state! Okay?!  
  
**Oh, honey. The shadow-state agents got you to buy into their lies.**  
  
Shut up. I’ve got a lot to say.  
  
**Fine.**  
  
So this whole thing started about three months ago: I got into my dorm and the Dean of my college comes running up to me saying I got a letter from the Royal Palace! Mister Taiaroa was always nosy. He opened the letter and read it himself.   
  
Turns out, a friend of the Kuhina Nui had read my book “Fate of the Savior” which is about the planet Earth, where Jericho had been born. Basically, I wrote about the brief wartime alliance between Partoga and Earth, and how the human named Jericho had saved the whole galaxy. I also speculated on whether or not Jericho had survived her battle with Agamemnon. At the end of the book, I called on the government to launch a science ship to find Earth and figure out if the humans are still alive.   
  
The letter-writer said that they had passed my book up the chain of command until both the Kuhina Nui and Her Highness the Queen had both read it. My head spun a few times after I read that. Anyway, the writer went on to say that someone in the government wanted to speak to me at the Royal Palace and they asked if I could come in later that afternoon.   
  
I actually packed my bags for a long trip before I remembered that the Royal Palace is only half a Kio from the Academy. So I dressed in my Rātapu best and walked to the Palace. When I got there, I thought I was just going to meet some low-level bureaucrat who just wanted to ask a few questions.   
  
Nope.  
  
The Green Guards knew who I was, someone must have told them, and guided me to a small conference room, which had a round table just big enough for maybe five or six people. I was alone in there for maybe a minute or two before the far door opened and three people came in: General Irawaru Ruru, the leader of the Partogan Royal Army, Holy Father Manaaki Ranginui, Patriarch of the Church of the Mountain and QUEEN PHOEBE HERSELF!  
  
I was so shocked, that I completely forgot to stand and bow to her.   
  
See, back my mama was Queen and I was just a little kid, Phoebe the Second (she was called Haki back then) was my personal Acolyte. Haki would stand right behind me during Religious Studies Class every day and hit me in the head with an “awakening stick” if I started to doze off. I still have the bumps to prove it.  
  
We were friends though. We did everything together. Fed the Kane-Ra in the stables, raided candy from the big kitchens, and stole books from the Great Library…  
  
**You’re kidding me... you didn’t do that.**  
  
We really did. Thick as thieves, you could have called the two of us sisters. Then mama died when I was nine. Under the law, I was too young to be elected Queen, plus I was never really a “Church Girl,” which would have instantly disqualified me. So I went off to the Academy, and Haki won the election. We haven’t spoken as friends in over twenty years.  
  
The Holy Father gave me a look that got my rear in gear. Once I bowed, we all sat down and she began to talk. Her Highness explained that I wasn’t the only person who wanted Partoga to reconnect with Earth, and that after reading my book, several high ranking members of the National Assembly, the Church of the Mountain, and the Royal Army were now interested in finding the humans.  
  
  
Then Her Highness asked a lot of questions about my book. Stuff like, “How did you calculate the position of the Sol Star? Has your data been reviewed by anyone at the Royal Science Academy? How did you come to your conclusions about the damage Earth took during the War in Heaven? What do you think we might find on Earth?”  
  
And so on and so on.  
  
I answered her questions as clearly as I could, explaining how I had calculated the Sol Star’s orbital path around the Galactic Core, and where one hundred and sixty years of gravitational drift may have pushed it. I told Her Highness about the fifteen-member committee at the Academy who had confirmed that my numbers were accurate, and how I had collaborated with several archeologists and military historians to figure out how much of a pounding Earth took during the War in Heaven. I gave two answers on what we might find on Earth: First, if humanity had been killed off, we may find the planet looted by survivors of the War in Heaven. If humanity had survived, then there’s no way they’ve recovered from having tens of millions of cubic Bios of dust kicked up into the atmosphere. They could be in a nuclear winter right now.  
  
Her Highness listened to all of my answers and explanations, then she folded her hands in front of her, and told me in no uncertain terms that I was the first person to calculate the location of the Sol Star AND have their numbers certified by a committee of academics.  
  
“Congratulations are in order,” she said, and then reached across the table and shook my hand.   
  
Then Her Highness got serious. She told me that she was currently willing and able to allocate manpower, financial backing, and military-grade hardware to a crewed expedition to find Earth and re-establish relations with the humans. It would be our first crewed space mission outside the Home System since the Second Hyperspace War over a century and a half ago. She said that my book had been the “last grain of sand that tipped the scale” which convinced the National Assembly to fund the project.  
  
Her Highness had saved the best part for last. She said she wanted me to take command of the science team that would be going along! I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear what she said after that. My mind went numb. I shook my head like a wet Dikapi and asked the Queen to repeat herself. She just laughed and quickly went over the offer again: I would command a group of seventeen other scientists who would make up the civilian half of the mission to find Earth.  
  
Then she warned me that this mission was going to take a very long time, because the ship was only going to make Short Jumps.  
  
Of course, two centuries ago, I could have crossed the entire galaxy in about a week because of the Hyperspace Network. Since all of the Gates were busted by Jericho (perhaps permanently) crossing the galaxy was going to be a massive effort now. I kinda slouched back into my chair when that thought hit me.  
  
Finally, I asked how long this whole operation was going to take.  
  
Her Highness gestured to General Ruru. He told me that the area where Sol might be was at least seventeen thousand, eight hundred and forty light years away. Flying the most direct path possible, it would take at least fifty-five Hyperspace Jumps to reach the search area and another sixty-eight to get back home.  
  
I did the math in my mind really quick and nearly fainted when I realized it would take three full years just to reach the search area. So I was already looking at a six year round-trip. On top of that, he told me that the ship had enough provisions on board to stay inside of the search area for at least a year. All told, this journey would take a maximum of seven years.  
  
The Queen said she felt it only appropriate that I be given the chance to lead this mission, since I was the one who had called so loudly for it. But if I wasn’t able or willing to step away from my obligations for so long, then-  
  
No, I cut across her and made it very clear that I was ready and willing for seven years of spaceflight, provided my family was cared for while I was gone.  
  
The Queen agreed just as quickly as I had jumped on the mission. I had planned to just drop out of school the next morning, but Phoebe said “Nonsense. You graduated this morning.” Alongside that, my papa was moved into the Palace. Specifically, the room he had lived in when his wife had been Queen. My brother Tai was offered a high-paying job in the Great Library so that he could support his daughter.   
  
And finally, Phoebe promised to add Tai’s daughter, my niece, to the list of Queen Candidates. This did two things:   
  
First: if something happens to Phoebe, little Maki would be allowed to stand for Royal Election, provided she hadn’t had her fifteenth birthday yet.  
  
Second: like all other Queen Candidates, she and her family will be placed under Green Guard protection. Obviously, the protection will end after she turns fifteen which’ll disqualify her from the Throne.  
  
**The shadow-state hard at work.**  
  
Quiet, you!  
  
Actually, throughout the last part of the conversation, Phoebe actually did pull a wad of papers out of her breast pocket and passed them to Holy Father, who had been sitting silently the whole time. He did leave in a hurry too, now that I think about it…  
  
We spent the rest of the day making final arrangements, and then we said our goodbyes.  
  
By the time I left the Royal Palace that night, I was officially the Science Officer of the HMS Midak. It’ll be the first crewed ship to leave the Home System in over one hundred and sixty years.  
  
And then, by the Mountain, things moved so damn fast.  
  
I had just enough time to tell my papa what I had gotten myself into. He loved the idea, and he gave me a great big heavy box full of mementos from mama’s reign to remind me of home. I’m sitting next to it now. Then I was flown out to Candon City, or “Kandin _”_ as the locals pronounce it, where I spent the next three months getting ready. First: I had to go through 6 weeks of space training. I did my first spaceflight, a six-lap flight around the planet, the day after the Queen’s Birthday.  
  
Then I got to meet the rest of the people on my science team. There’s going to be eighteen civilian scientists on board the Midak, and I’m the leader! I spent a month getting to know everyone and figuring out who was going to do each job in one of the Midak’s three laboratories. Like Her Highness said, all of these people have volunteered for a multi-decade long deep space mission. They had to set their affairs in order too. So once I met everyone, I ordered the team to spend our last few days at the Rapa-Nui resort with their families. Three days of geothermal lakes, massages, and sleeping on the black sand beaches. All paid for by the Royal Government.  
  
And then yesterday, we all flew into orbit and arrived at Fort Daxia’s shipyard. My team and I crossed over to the Midak, and that’s where we are right now. I got everyone set up in their quarters and now we’re just patiently waiting for the military crew to get here.   
  
Phew! I think that’s everything for now. Kaia? Anything you want to say before I sign off for the night?  
  
**Nope! I just wanna get going.**  
  
_[Personal log closed.]_


	3. Sixty

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Fort Daxia Drydock, Trecta Star System, 30 Hakihea 684.]_  
  
The mission officially begins tomorrow! I just had a very… very long day, and I’m finally taking a moment to settle into the small room I’m going to call home for the next five to eight years.  
  
Phew… eight years…  
  
Focus, Mira. Talk about what happened.  
  
So first: my science team. You’ve already met Miss Patariki. The rest of the team finally unpacked their stuff and are settling in now.  
  
There’s the Physics Team: Ari, Rewa, Tipi, Watahui, Hotu and Mana.  
  
The Engineering team is Kaia, Eru, Manawa, Nikau, Tangaroa, and myself.  
  
And the Biology team is Tamaho, Meto, Ria, Moe, Hoana, and Anahera  
  
So while my team was settling in, I decided to have a look around before the military crew arrived. The HMS Midak is one helluva ship. She’s a-hundred-ten Bios long and has a beam of either one-thirty-one or one-thirty-two Bios depending on who you ask.  
  
**One-thirty-two!**  
  
Hey Kaia, what’s up?  
  
**Nothing. Just brought the last experiments on board. Moe and Tamaho are getting a head start on the irradiated bacteria cultures. You doing another audio log?**  
  
Yup.  
  
…  
  
Okay, where was I?  
  
So the whole ship weighs almost four hundred tons, but she can still get up and go if she really needs to. The Midak has a max acceleration of fifty five Bios per second squared and a top speed of nearly two hundred and five Bios per second. The Midak can keep pace with a war era Keelerak-Class assault frigate, and those things were speed demons!  
  
Okay, what else? The Midak has twenty-nine airtight compartments across four decks, which can be sealed in the event of a disaster: The bridge, comms tower, sensor array, three labs, the power plant, hyperspace module, engine room, four crew compartments, two galleys, the Captain’s quarters, 2 workshops, the infirmary, the crew lounge, the emergency containment chamber, the foundry, five radiation shelters, a cargo bay, and that one special chamber that civilians like me aren’t allowed to go into. There’s one like it on every ship with a military crew.  
  
Speaking of them…  
  
They showed up about twenty hours ago. There are forty-two people in the military crew: Nine commissioned officers, eight non-commissioned officers, and twenty-five enlisted crew. Twenty-seven men, fifteen women. It took half the day, but I finally managed to meet and shake hands with every one of them. If I’m gonna spend the next half-decade of my life with them, I may as well get off on the right foot with these people. I learned a few interesting things about the crew along the way too, let’s see:  
  


  * Captain Toa Rangi is a hardcore soldier. I think he actually changed his first name to “Toa” to reflect that. He’s so grim I’m positive he’s killed someone before. He isn’t keen on interacting with civilians, and he talked formally to me the whole time.  
  

  * Commander Anika Aranui is second-in-command and the only female officer on board. Do you know why there are no other female officers? Because there’s no woman as intense as her. You’d think the Third Hyperspace War had started whenever you talk to Aranui. So grim, so serious.  
  

  * Lieutenant Commander Tai Tunui’s little sister actually ran for the Throne after mama passed away. Apparently she got a lot of votes.  
  

  * Arapata and Arapeta Kirikiri are identical twin brothers. EXACTLY identical. Kaia and I are planning a series of experiments to determine if they have telepathy with one another.  
  

  * Petty Officer Whawhakiterangi Tirikatene is the great-granddaughter of Queen Miranda the Fourth.  
  

  * Despite having the same last name, Taka and Hori Rangihau are not related to each other. The same goes for Watahui and Kauri Wiki, and for Nikau and Tama Hetet.  
  

  * There’s this guy who works in the Communications Tower, Tai Whiu. He showed up for one meeting of my Skywatchers Club at the Royal Science Academy. He didn’t say anything and never came back. I hope my second impression on him was better than the first. We actually had a conversation this time.  
  

  * Moana Ranginui really doesn’t like me. I don’t know what I said to upset her, she was really short with me and locked the Hyperspace Module door behind me when I left.



Look, I can’t go through all sixty of us, so I’ll just drop the crew manifest into the file before I go.  
  
So once everybody was on board and settled in, Captain Rangi gave a speech over the intercom about how it was our destiny to find the humans and start a new era of galactic history. Then we all went to our stations and that was it. The Midak’s gonna launch in about fifteen hours, and that’ll be it. We’re off to find the humans.  
  
I’m gonna go now and call my papa. He says he’s glad I’m going on a “magnificent life journey like mama” but I know he’s going to miss me as much as I’ll miss him. I don’t even know if we’ll see each other again. A lot can happen in six years… or eight.  
  
Right, time to go.  
  
_[Crew manifest file uploaded.]_

__

_[Personal log closed.]_


	4. First Jump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I was planning to use different fonts, colors, and text sizes to differentiate between different speakers (the microphone on Mira's tablet can only do so much) but AO3 has its limitations. To work around that issue, here's a simple rule: when reading Mira's logs, any dialogue shown in BOLD FONT should be as interpreted as "Not Mira."

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Outer Trecta Star System, 17 Hanuere 685]_  
  
Well, we’ve just passed beyond the orbit of Whiro, so we’ll be in position for our first Hyperspace Jump in a few minutes. The Science team hasn’t had much to do, since the Home System was fully explored and colonized over two hundred years ago. We're just sitting on our hands waiting for the jump to start.  
  
**I’M SOOOO BOOOORREEED!!**  
  
 Me too, Kaia.  
  
So far, the only interesting thing that’s happened is we came across an uncharted shipwreck from the Second Hyperspace War. I asked Captain Rangi to let the Engineering Team take a few pieces on board to analyze, and he was happy to oblige. Turns out it was a Vanian battleship that got pulverized when the Invaders moved through our Home System. What pieces of the ship remain were big enough to fit in the galley. We dropped off a marker buoy and transmitted the wreck’s location to Fleet Command.  
  
Everything has to be transmitted now. We’ve been out of real-time comms range for two days. Commander Aranui told me that once we start using the Hyperspace Module to cross lightyears, we’ll outpace radio transmissions coming from home. We won’t know about events on Partoga until we start heading back home. That’s half a decade from now at the very least.  
  
In the meantime, I’ve refined our flightplan. There’s a way for us to get down to the Sol Star’s last known position in just a little less than two years, eight months. Then after that, it’s just a matter of searching: I’ve designated three search areas based on where the Sol Star could have gone after the War in Heaven. Just like everything else in the galaxy, Sol is orbiting a supermassive black hole in the galactic core. The problem is that no one bothered to make a note of Sol’s exact location during the war. Most allied ships just used locator beacons to reach Sol, and once the War in Heaven actually started, everyone who wasn’t fighting turned and ran. So the day after the battle, the two Partogan ships that survived the battle made like a Hoto bug and scrambled back home without looking back once.   
  
So, three search areas: The primary one is where Sol might be if its orbit around the galactic core is circular. The secondary search area is where Sol might be if it’s in an elliptical orbit. Unlikely, but it’s still possible. And the third search area is pointless.  
  
**Oh, come on! I thought it was funny. Tell’em!**

Ugh. Fine. So the third search area will only come into play if Sol is in a retrograde orbit.  
  
**Hehehe... Tell’em what “retrograde” means...**  
  
It means that somehow, against the laws of the universe itself, Sol is going around the galaxy backwards. It’s the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard, but Captain Rangi asked me to create a search area just in case it turns out to be true. I’ll drop my new flight plan into the file, just in case I need to tweak it later.  
  
_[Flight_plan file uploaded]_

__

_..._  
  
Kaia, do you hear that? That’s the Jump signal!  
  
**This is it! They’re getting ready to initiate Hyperspace!**  
  
 Okay, we have to report to our radiation shelters now! I’ll write again once we finish the jump!  
  
**If we survive, that is...**  
  
Not helping, Kaia. Let’s go.  
   
_[Log entry paused.]_  
_Sys/ Hyperspace jump initiated._  
_Sys/ Post-Hyperspace system self-check underway._  
_Sys/ Self-check complete. All systems operational._  
_..._  
_[Log entry resumed.]_  
  
  We’ve just completed our very first Hyperspace Jump! It was so amazing! Kaia! Tell everyone at home what it was like!  
  
**Whoa, Mira. Hold on, I think I’m gonna puke...**  
  
We just jumped from the Trecta system into the Tediss system. That’s a distance of five point two lightyears. LIGHT. YEARS. No one has gotten this far away from home since the war!  
  
**Mira... you’re making my head pound.**  
  
Fine, I’ll tone it down. Okay, so listen, it was so cool! They fired up the Hyperspace Module and I could actually feel the Quantum Wavefront going through the ship! Then it was like every nerve in my body was sending signals to my brain all at once! I was hot and cold at the same time. I was having thousands of different thoughts every second, but I could understand them all! The radiation shelter was full of light, but also so dark I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face!  
  
**You felt all that? By the Mountain, you’re insane. All I felt was my lunch coming back up my throat.**  
  
 Oh, do you want to go to the infirmary?  
  
**Yes. Please.**  
...  
...  
  
**This is Mihaka’s bunk, right?**  
  
**Yeah, right here. Search everything.**  
  
**What’s this? A tablet computer?**  
  
**Looks like she’s making auto logs. Computer, replay all previous audio logs created by Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka.**  
  
_Cmd usr/ replay all logs_  
_Sys/ playing media…_  
_Sys/ operation complete_  
  
**She doesn’t know. Put it down.**  
  
**Doesn’t look like she has anything suspicious either. Let’s move on to the next room.**  
... ... ...  
  
**Wait, did you leave the door open?**  
  
I don’t remember. You lay down and drink some water. I’ll let the Commander know where you are. Oh, great, I left my log running…  
  
_[Personal log closed.]_


	5. On the Hyperlane

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Outer Vinjim Star System, 4 Hui-tanguru, 685]  
_

It’s been just over a month now since we left home and everyone has settled into the routine of life on a spaceship for the most part. The crew is broken up into three groups, and we all work in ten-hour shifts. I’m on duty with Kaia in the Engineering Lab from midnight until ten-hundred hours. Then we get the next ten hours off. We usually spend the time doing general maintenance and housekeeping around the Midak, keeping everything shipshape and operational.

Once we run out of stuff to do, we just relax in the crew lounge. Fleet Command knew this mission was going to take over half a decade, so they went all out with the lounge. It’s like a mix of the most luxurious café you can imagine, and a small amphitheater with a huge glass window that backlights the stage with a star field. Big squishy couches all around the walls, and on the other side of the room from the amphitheater is a walled off area with only one door that faces into the lounge. Though that door is a gymnasium we can use to keep our bones and muscles in good shape over the next six years The gym’s walls are even soundproofed so the people working out don’t disturb anyone in the rest of the lounge.

At the end of our ten hour maintenance shift, Kaia and I head up to Crew Bay Three. There are four crew bays total, and each one can hold fifteen people; but you’ll never find all sixty bunks being used. At a bare minimum, twenty crew members are always awake and working. There are forty if the previous shift is doing maintenance work. The other twenty are sleeping.

Food around here is treated with nervous apprehension. When we left Daxia, there was enough food on board for exactly nine years, four months, and fifteen days. Most of it is pre-prepared meals in vacuum-sealed packages. It should be more that we need, if all goes well. We still have a plan for the day we run out, though:

See, the Midak has a Phased Disassembler Array on board. The tech was pilfered from an alien empire that fell to the Invaders very early in the Second Hyperspace War. I forgot what they were called, High-kirians? Higgy-arians? Something like that. The Phased Disassembler Array takes solid matter (preferably in the form of a small asteroid) and breaks it down into its composite particles. Basically, we can grind an asteroid down into dust and then sort that dust by what it’s made of. Once the Midak runs out of food, we’ll turn the PDA on any organic matter we come across. The ship’s computer has a recipe for a basic, but life-sustaining nutrient paste that’ll keep us alive past the nine-year mark. If the PDA breaks… well… we won’t let that happen.

In the meantime, Kaia and I have started our first scientific investigation of the mission:

Last night, Hinauri Keiha and Hapaikiterangi Herekotutuku barged into a meeting of the command staff yelling that the Hyperspace Module was on fire. Turns out they were kind of right; random points of the device itself were spontaneously combusting. The fires themselves were small and harmless, and they went out quickly. The Hyperspace Module’s inner shell is made of a material that isn’t known for being flammable, so the Captain ordered me to “wake up the science team.” I was so excited to be useful that I woke up the people on Third Shift, even though they went to bed about 45 minutes before.

And just to be clear, no. Hyperspace Modules do not spontaneously catch fire. Something had to interact with the shell to cause a spark. All fires need fuel, oxygen, and heat. The Module generates its own heat, and all Partogans breathe a mixture of Oxygen and Nitrogen, but where’s the fuel? And what’s starting the chain reaction in the first place? There's a lot to figure out here.

My shift is almost done, but I’m going to stay on for a few hours and help out the next shift. Maybe together we can figure something out.

_[Personal log closed]_

_[Personal log addendum: 5 Hui-tanguru 685, Inner Vinjim Star System]_

I just had a really, really boring afternoon followed by five seconds of pure terror.

Remember yesterday, when the Hyperspace Module decided it would look better if it was on fire? My team and I spent about twenty-six hours in the labs trying to figure out why that was happening. We tested the material the casing was made out of, took samples of the air and analyzed everything about it, we even took skin samples of the men and women who worked in the module to see if there was a reaction between skin and the module.

So about five hours ago, we got our first lead. Biologist Moe Kaa figured out that the titanium alloy the Hyperspace Module is made from was reacting to cosmic rays. Something coming off the nearby star, Vinjim, is reacting with the Hyperspace Module and causing its exterior to combust.

I got the whole Engineering Team together and we designed an experiment to test the “cosmic rays” theory. Kaia, Nikau and Tangaroa went to the foundry and built a one-by-two Bio piece of armor plating built from the same alloy as the Hyperspace Module. Then we secured it in the Engineering Lab and began to bombard it with different types of radiation using a particle accelerator I borrowed from the Physics Team.

Before we started, Kaia and I ran up to the bridge to tell Captain Rangi that we were about to start experimenting with radioactivity and open flames. He cleared all of the rooms around the Engineering Lab and gave notice over the loudspeaker that the military crew wasn’t allowed near the lab for the time being. Then we got started. It was tedious work, but we made progress. We tried almost every possible form of radiation a B-class star could put out before we found a really narrow microwave that caused our slab to spontaneously combust. After that, we just had to find a way to stop that from happening naturally.

Tangaroa came up with an idea to remove some atmosphere from the chamber containing the Hyperspace Module. Not enough that the crew would need to wear space suits in the room, but just enough that they might need to carry a bottle of breathing air if they spent a long time inside. Less air, less chance of a fire. So we partially decompressed the Engineering Lab, set up the particle accelerator, and started blasting our test slab again.

That’s when Chief Petty Officer Whetu Karawana unsealed the main door, came inside, and yelled;

“Hey, Mihaka! You in here?”

Karawana didn’t knock. She just opened the door. And I know she didn’t read the sign on the door because I wrote it! The big red letters said:

"KEEP OUT. SENSITIVE EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS"   

But nooo **…** signs mean nothing to the CPO, apparently. I guess being almost-barely-but-not-quite-an-officer makes you immune to the rules. It also gives you a free pass to cause explosions inside a cramped spaceship, too. When Karawana opened the lab door, she introduced a couple dozen cubic Bios of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and Ozone into the room. Our tiny fire exploded like the Unnamed Mountain did six hundred years ago. (Praise the Mountain, lest it happen again) The lab was wrecked. The particle accelerator burnt to a crisp, and all of our testing materiel was turned into charcoal. Tipi from the Physics Team ran over to see what the noise was about, and he threw every curse word in the language at poor Karawana when he saw what the blast had done to his particle accelerator. Karawana looked like she was going to cry. Oh, and you know why she was looking for me in the first place? She wanted to ask why all of the fire alarms in the lab were disabled! All that trouble for something so trivial!

The medics ended up treating five of us (including myself) for ruptured eardrums. Tamaho said it could be a month before my hearing is back to normal levels. My bunkmate Kaia got the worst of it. She’s still in the infirmary now, getting ready for surgery. Second-degree burns on her left arm AND her left eardrum is burst. Damn, she got messed up. So I promised Kaia I’d go see her as soon as my duty shift ended today, which means Tangaroa and Nikau have taken over the investigation for a few hours. Once the shift changes, Eru and Manawa will wake up and take charge.

In the meantime, spontaneous fires are still breaking out in the Hyperspace Module every few hours or so. We still have a week and a half before we reach the Hyperlane leading out of the system though, so we need to come up with something before then.

_[Personal log closed]_

  _..._

  _[Personal log addendum: 6 Hui-tanguru 685, Inner Vinjim Star System]_

Faster-than-light systems restored! For once, everything went our way today. Kaia's surgery went smoothly, although it'll be a few days before she can hear again. After she was released from the infirmary, I was walking her back to the crew bay and the whole ship went on Hyperspace Alert. I didn’t know what was going on, so I just kinda threw Kaia into the first Radiation Shelter I found and then ran straight to the shelter underneath the Bridge, which is where the Captain goes during Hyperspace Jumps. I hadn’t gone more than two Bios though when the Hyperspace Alert was cancelled.

So I doubled back for Kaia and we went up to the Bridge together. I found Tangaroa up there with Captain Rangi, and they explained what had happened:

Tangaroa had told Captain Rangi about our “decompress the Hyperspace Module” theory, and he decided to carry out his own test. Tangaroa tried to tell him to wait until the Engineering Team was finished, but the Captain got impatient. Rangi ordered the Hyperspace technicians to don space suits, depressurize the Hyperspace Module and just fire it up. Just like that! He could have blown up the whole ship! Luckily, that didn’t happen. It turned out that the system works perfectly fine in a low-atmosphere environment. Tangaroa, Kaia and I all gave the Captain an earful for risking all of our lives on an untested hunch. He just shrugged and said we could tinker with the Hyperspace Module whenever we wanted so long as we didn’t turn it off.

Does Rangi treat all civilians like children or something?

But, for the time being, we’re going to keep the Hyperspace Module depressurized until we leave the system. The next star in our path is a K-class, so it’ll put out different types of radiation than whatever Vinjim is throwing at us, which means we won’t have to worry about this problem much longer. Hopefully.

_[Personal log closed.]_

_..._

_Sys/ Hyperspace jump initiated._

_Sys/ Post-Hyperspace system self-check underway._

_Sys/ Self-check complete. All systems operational._

_..._  
  
_[Personal log addendum: 17 Hui-tanguru 685, Outer Nithascal Star System]_

Well, we’ve made it. And it was just like we thought. As soon as we jumped out of the Vinjim system, the Hyperspace Module started behaving itself again. No fires to be seen anywhere, and we repressurized the module. In future, whenever the ship gets saturated with that particular microwave, we’ll evacuate the Hyperspace Module and then depressurize it. It’s not the best solution, but it’ll keep us moving until we figure out something better.

In the meantime, we’ve entered the Nithascal Star system. Before the Second Hyperspace War, our people had a colony on the second planet here. Ninety million people used to live there, until the Invaders blasted the whole planet into small pieces.

This place marked Partoga’s southern border before the war. Once we jump out of here, we’ll have well and truly left home. Between here and Earth is a large swath of space that once belonged to the Micore Empire, followed by a narrow panhandle of Amadii space, and then a big empty region of space no one owned before the war. On the other side of that empty region should be the place where Sol used to be. Then we can start searching.

The humans never fell to the Invaders. The Partogans who survived the War in Heaven told us as much. Wherever their star ended up, I hope they’re alive and well. Living humans will be such a wonderful sight if we have to fly through anymore graveyards.

_[Personal log closed]_


	6. A Close Call

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Inner Landeen Star System, 2 Mahuru 685]  
_

Eight months, two days, nine hours. That’s how long it took me to get sick of the treadmill. Look, I know I’m supposed to be doing cardio exercises every day, but bobbing up and down on that thing was getting old. So last week, I started jogging throughout the ship with some of the military crew. There are five soldiers in our group: Tungia Taipua and Taka Rangihau from the Comms Tower, Nia Tawhiti, who works in Engine Room, and power plant techs Rawiri Kopu and Maia Maaka. They’ve been running every morning since we left home, and they were more than happy to let me join in.  
  
Each morning, we start out in the workshop on deck two, just above the engine room. We run the length of Deck Two; from stern to bow. Then we go through the trapdoor hatch in Radiation Shelter 5 and end up in the crew quarters of Deck Three, which is right up against the bow of the ship. Then we jog the length of Deck Three until we get to the engine room, which is in the stern. After that, we drop down to Deck Four and sprint as hard as we can past the Hyperspace Module to the Crew Lounge in the bow. It’s a good workout.  
  
Honestly, I’m kind of upset the military and civilian crews don’t mingle more. Some of these soldiers make good company. Except Moana Ranginui. She’s the Petty Officer who locked me out of the Hyperspace Module and refuses to speak with me. Every time our group runs past the place, she stands in the main hatchway leading to the Module and gives me a really dirty look. You’d think I kicked her pet Hapaka or something. On top of giving me all kinds of evil eyes and cold shoulders, Moana seems a little antisocial to me. Ever since we left Partogan space, she really hasn’t fallen in with any of the little cliques that have formed amongst the crew. None of the other non-commissioned officers hang out with her, and I don’t see her sitting with the other Hyperspace techs during mealtimes either. What the heck did she do to offend everyone? Or perhaps they-  
  
Hold on... Wait...   
  
Something just happened. Hey Kaia, I’m going to the bridge, watch my stuff.  
  
**Hell with that, I’m going with you!**  
  
_[Log paused]_  
_[Log resumed]_

Alright, I’m back. Commander Aranui told me we’ve changed course and are heading for a nearby anomaly. She didn’t tell me why, though. Just said I needed to tell the Physics Team to “clear their schedules” whatever that means. Anyway, we’re going to reach the anomaly in about a day, so I need to make sure the labs are ready.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_..._

 _[Personal log addendum: Kadiir Nebula, 3 Mahuru, 685]_  
  
There was a massacre here.

There’s battle wreckage everywhere. Just like the wrecks we found back home, these hulks date back to the Second Hyperspace War. We’ve found Amadii, Levakian, Vanian, and Micore ships here. Not a single Invader though. It looks like the enemy got the jump on our old allies, and they didn’t have enough time to respond. In the middle of it all is an old Micore starbase. Of course, there wouldn’t have been any people on board that day. The Micore never actually left their homeworld. Instead, they had a vast army of sentient Droids and automated ships to maintain and defend their empire. Eru counted the number of ships each species had in the fight here, and he says it looks like the defending fleet was mostly Micore ships. Perhaps this is where they made their last stand.  
  
Once we found the battlefield, Captain Rangi finally briefed the science team on the anomaly we’re searching for: a weak radio transmission coming from somewhere deeper in the debris field. It’s consistent with a war-era Levakian distress call.   
  
The Levakians may extinct now, but that doesn’t erase the fact that they came from the same homeworld as us. We were their biggest ally during the war, and the Levakians were ours, so we’re obviously going to follow up on this. The Midak is moving slowly through the debris field now, and the whole crew is on general quarters, which means everyone is awake and at their stations. All six of our communication specialists are in the Comms Tower right now, guiding the ship towards the source of the signal. The rest of us are waiting... just waiting...  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
...  
_[BRIDGE VOICE RECORDING: 3 MAHURU 685, 29:54 HOURS]_

Captain Toa Rangi: Helm, set engines ahead two-thirds.  
  
Corporal Arapata Kirikiri: One hundred-five Bios per second, yes sir.  
  
Commander Anika Aranui: Sir, the signal is growing more frequent. I estimate we’re less than a thousand Kios away from the source.  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Good. Maintain course and speed.  
  
Corporal Arapata Kirikiri: Uh, Captain... I think something just hit the ship.  
  
Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka: What? You mean like a meteorite?  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Helm, stop all engines. Corporal Wiki, call the boys in the Sensor Suite and ask them-WHAT WAS THAT!?

Commander Anika Aranui: WE’VE BEEN HIT!!  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: REPORT!  
  
Corporal Niko Pongia: An explosion on the outer hull, starboard side, near the bow! Hull breach on deck two!  
  
Lieutenant Commander Tai Tunui: Bridge calling Infirmary: medical emergency! Civilian Mihaka is down with a head injury!

Medic Meto Kapua: Acknowledged. We’re sending a man up there. Infirmary out.  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Corporal Hei, drop the emergency bulkheads on deck two!  
  
Corporal Kori Hei: Already down and locked, sir. The forward Galley and one of the radiation shelters have decompressed.  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Was anyone in there?  
  
Corporal Arapeta Kirikiri: Too early to tell, sir.  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Aranui!  
  
Commander Anika Aranui: I’d give you an answer if I could, sir! Corporal Wiki, take anyone you need for the damage control team and head for deck two!  
  
Corporal Kauri Wiki: Yes, ma’am!  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Bridge calling Engine Room!  
  
Lieutenant Kahumanu Ngakaukawa: Captain, what in Miranda’s name just happened?!  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: I was hoping you could tell us.  
  
Lieutenant Kahumanu Ngakaukawa: No idea! Both of the sub-lights are stuck hardover, so our center of thrust is way off to port. Weapons fire? An asteroid maybe?  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Couldn’t tell you. Any injuries back there?  
  
Lieutenant Kahumanu Ngakaukawa: Rangihau, the male one, took a hit on the head. Private Makura’s taking him to the infirmary now. Including me, there’s four of us in here now.  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Understood. Shutdown the sub-light engines and disconnect them from the Power Plant until I say otherwise. Bridge out. Bridge calling Hyperspace Module!  
  
Petty Officer Moana Ranginui: What THE HELL is going on up there?!  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: We’re trying to figure that out. Did anything happen to the Module?  
  
Petty Officer Moana Ranginui: Negative! The Hyperspace Module is fine, although the people took a beating down here. Look, I can’t talk. Gotta take the Lieutenant to the infirmary. Hyperspace Module out.  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Bridge calling Power Plant!  
  
Private Maia Maaka: Uhh, um, Power Plant here.  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Who is this?! Where’s Petty Officer Taipua?  
  
Private Maia Maaka: Both the Lieutenant and the Petty Officer are injured, aaannnnd... uuhhh... I don’t know where Corporal Ruru is. My... uh, my name is Maaka, Sir.  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Okay, Private Maaka. Listen closely. How many people are in the Power Plant right now?  
  
Private Maia Maaka: Um, uuhh, oh, it’s just me in here. Kopu and Paikea are, uh, taking everyone else to the infirmary. We got banged up really bad down here, sir.  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Understood, Private. Stay where you are and DO NOT move away from your station. I’m sending a team to you now.  
  
Private Maia Maaka: Right sir. I’m waiting here. Power Plant... uh... Power Plant... out.  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Okay everyone, listen up! I’m certain we just flew into some kind of ordinance. A warhead, a mine, a dud bomb, or something else like that. Corporal Kirikiri, keep us at a dead stop. Tukino, call up the Comms Tower and tell them to go silent. Wihongi, go up to the Sensors Suite and tell them to start looking for a minefield. Aranui, go get the damage control team and redirect them to the Power Plant. Ata?  
  
Corporal Ahu Ata: Sir?  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Do you have a casualty count?  
  
Corporal Ahu Ata: Numbers are still coming in, but I see eleven civilians and nineteen military injured, mostly head and whiplash injuries. No fatalities.  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Get up, and go do a headcount. I want to know the exact location of every person on the ship; I want to know which section each casualty came from, and how badly understrength those sections are now. We can’t take any serious actions until we know our own capabilities. And Tunui?  
  
Lieutenant Commander Tai Tunui: Yes, Sir?  
  
Captain Toa Rangi: Get down to the infirmary and make sure Mihaka’s okay. We need the Science team back on their feet quickly. Pongia, pull the tapes.  
  
Corporal Niko Pongia: Right away Sir.

 _[FLIGHT DATA RECORDING SYSTEM DISABLED, BRIDGE VOICE RECORDER OFFLINE.]_  
_[TIME OF SYSTEM FAILURE: 4 MAHURU 685, 00:04 HOURS]_  
_..._  
_[Personal log addendum: Kadiir Nebula, 4 Mahuru, 685]_

I’m out of the infirmary. Holy Miranda, my head hurts. Tamaho said I got thrown halfway across the bridge when the explosion happened, and I hit my head on the ceiling. He says I’ve got a concussion; I feel fine, but I was just too dizzy to argue with him. No, I went straight back to the bridge. Captain Rangi was there with all of the other officers and two of the Petty Officers: Moana and Whetu. Of course, as soon as I showed up, Moana said “oh, Mihaka’s here, we can blow up the ship now.”  
  
By the Mountain, I hate her.   
  
Once we finished giving each other angry looks, Lieutenant Commander Tunui gave the full damage report: The Midak struck a mine. The explosion ruptured our bow plating along deck two and decompressed one of the galleys and a radiation shelter. Because the mine was on our starboard side, the entire ship lurched to port, causing about twenty-five people (including me) to lose our footing, fall over, and hit our heads. To make matters worse, both of the sub-light engines were still firing when we hit the mine, so they gimballed hard and got jammed in the hardover position. Now every time we fire up the engines, the whole ship spins counter-clockwise instead of moving forward.   
  
In short, the Midak is broken.  
  
Captain Rangi and Commander Aranui agreed that we can’t effect repairs in the middle of what might turn out to be a minefield. The plan going forward is threefold:   
  
First, Hori Rangihau and Enoka Makura are going to spacewalk out to the stern and manually return both of the sub-light engines to the amidships position, so the Midak can fly straight again. After that, we’ll move on the slowest possible speed to a safe location to do serious repairs. From here on out, that Levakian distress signal isn't our problem anymore. I'm not arguing that point. If no one answered a hundred-sixty years ago, then we were too late anyways.

Second, Kaia and I are gonna fire up the Phased Disassembler Array and start disintegrating some of the old battle wreckage around the Midak. We’ll use the material to fabricate new hull plating so the Engineering Team patch that big hole in deck two.   
  
And third, all six of the soldiers who work in the Comms Tower were ordered into the “Special Chamber.” I still don’t know what’s in that room. It’s accessible only via a doorway on the far end of the bridge, underneath the staircase that takes you to the Captain’s Quarters. The Captain told me to leave the bridge after that, so I don’t know what he told those troops to do in there.   
  
The engine techs have already suited up, so Kaia and I going to take the next few hours to grind some hundred-sixty year old shipwrecks into a fine powder. It’s gonna be a long day ahead.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_... ..._  
_[Personal log addendum: Kadiir Nebula, 6 Mahuru, 685]_  
  
Phew! What a day! And a night! I don’t think I’ve slept in fifty-five hours... so here’s how it all went down:  
  
It took Enoka and Hori about an hour to realign the sub-light engines. Both of the Midak’s sub-light engines can gimbal, or swivel in their mounts. So once Enoka and Hori were in position, the crew in the engine room shut down the servomotors controlling the gimbal system, and then the spacewalkers just put their shoulders to the engine bells and pushed them back into place.  
  
While those two were dealing with the sub-lights, Kaia and I started gathering raw materials for the reconstruction of Deck Two. We took over the PDA and broke down a Micore cruiser. Kaia picked-  
  
**Hey, I’m right here, don’t speak for me! Hey, hey, people in the future, listen up: During the war Micore ships, particularly the cruisers, were crewed mostly if not entirely by Droids. That means these ships were filled to bursting with spare parts for the automated crew to maintain themselves. Since we just needed to patch our hull, I ground up the cruiser with the Phased Disassembler Array, poured it into a small drum and siphoned away any moisture that may have frozen onto the hull. Then the powdered cruiser was superheated, liquefied, and reshaped into the hull sections we needed. After that, Eru and Manawa, the two big guys on the Engineering Team, they spacewalked out to the bow and sealed the breach in deck two. The Midak looks like it has an eyepatch now. It’s actually really cool to look at.**  
  
Yes, yes it is. And it’s all thanks to us, Kaia. Tell everyone at home about the other thing.  
  
**Oh, right! There’s A LOT of noise coming from the secret chamber behind the bridge. It sounds like a turbine engine running at high speed. Oh! And a really bright yellow light is radiating through the floor and into the ceiling of the Foundry one deck down. It’s like that light you see during dance parties at the Royal Science Academy. Except there’s no pulsing electronic music, synthetic drugs, secret revolutionary slogans-**  
  
Secret what?  
  
**Secrets hidden in that damn room!**  
  
That damn room, yeah. The really strange part is that all six of the comm specialists are still in there. They’ve been in that room since we hit the mine two days ago. They haven’t left for anything. Food... Sleep...  
  
**Not even to go to the lavatory?**  
  
Not even to go to the lavatory. They haven’t left. It’s really, really weird.  
  
**Gross. Gross! So...so....gross!**  
  
Well at this point, I think I’d rather deal with something really gross than have another mine hit the ship, or get another concussion. Neither of those were fun.  
  
**Get some sleep, Mira. You’re going to start running in circles if you stay up any longer.**  
  
 Sleep, good idea. Let’s just take a day, or two .

 _[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: 8 Mahuru 685, Kadiir Nebula]_  
  
Things are finally starting to get back to normal around here. The comms crew came out of their secret chamber behind the bridge late last night. By the Mountain, they looked and smelled awful! I don’t think any of them have slept since they day we hit the mine. Two of them: Tai and Kahurangi, went straight to the infirmary and I’m pretty sure they’re still there right now. Tungia Taipua didn’t even make it to her bunk. She sat down in a corridor just off the bridge and fell asleep. She wouldn’t wake up even when I talked into her ear. Private Rangihau and I carried Taipua back to her bunk and wrapped her in heavy blankets.   
  
Meanwhile, the forward galley is serving meals again. Whenever someone goes in there for food, they give the patch in the wall a nervous look. I’m sure that by now, most of the crew knows that only a paper thin layer of century-old Plasteel is all that separates the galley from the vacuum of space. It’s worse in Radiation Shelter Five. Normally, each shelter holds twelve people during Hyperspace Jumps. Shelter Five is inside the nose of the ship, so when we struck the mine, it crumpled up like an automobile does when it hits a wall. Even though we patched the hull, we can’t fit more than five people inside the shelter.  
  
Keeping that in mind, Captain Rangi redrew the shelter assignments this morning. During our next Hyperspace Jump, I get to share Shelter Two with fifteen other people. It’s going to get really, really uncomfortable; but at least I won’t be killed by the Hyperspace Module.  
  
Maybe the humans have developed a means of Faster-Than-Light travel that isn’t lethal to the user. That would make this trip worth the price.   
  
_[Personal log closed]_


	7. Rotorua

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a large number of people talking into Mira's microphone at once. AO3's limitations prevent me from simply copying the chapter from the Paradox forums and preserving the original formatting. Therefore, this chapter has been edited to allow for easier reading.

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, On the Surface of Hokianga, Caspadence Star System, 28 Oketopa, 685]_  
  
 We’ve made some significant headway towards the Sol Star, putting almost forty-five light years behind us. By my guess, we’ll arrive in the search area about ten or eleven months from now. I really think we’re going to find Earth before the end of next year. In the meantime, we’ve stumbled upon one hell of a find:  
  
Hokianga! Or... what’s left of it anyway. Hokianga was an experimental colony set up around fifty years before the war. There were people from fifteen different species living together a mega-city called Rotorua. My history book at school described it as a “multinational attempt to create utopia, housing two billion people from countless worlds.” It sounds like it was going to be a success until the Invaders showed up.  
  
They absolutely wrecked the place. When we found it this afternoon all that remained of Rotorua was a massive impact crater spanning eighty-five Kios in all directions. On top of that, the planet’s atmosphere is gone. Not changed. Not reduced. GONE. We dropped sensors and scanned for any remains, but didn’t find anything. The city is completely flattened. They just nuked Rotorua from orbit.

  
Once we got over the shock of seeing what’s left of Hokianga, Captain Rangi kicked us into gear. All of the Comms Specialists went into the secret chamber again, and the Midak started doing lower and lower flybys above the crater; until we finally came down to a landing in the crater. Lieutenant Commander Tunui used a century-old map of the city to figure out where the Partogan district used to be, and he figured out a safe spot for us. In the end, we set down about half a Kio away from the spot where the Partogan convention hall used to be, in the western end of the city. Once the Midak touched down, we got to work. Captain Rangi told me that while the military crew carried out serious repairs to the Midak, the Science Team and I would have fifteen hours to carry out whatever investigations we wanted. So I’ve issued EVA suits to all seventeen members of the science team, and given everyone jobs. There’s a few questions that I need to figure out here:

  1. Did anyone survive and if so, where are they?
  2. What happened to the planet’s atmosphere?
  3. Also, the military crew wants to know: If the Invaders really did this, what weapon did they use? Can we defend against it?



 I don’t think I’ll be able to answer that third one, but I’ll give it my best shot.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: On the Surface of Hokianga, 29 Oketopa, 685]_  
  
Spacewalk’s over! We’re all back aboard the Midak now, and wow! We had a great day! First things first: I was wrong about the atmosphere. It’s just barely still there. On planets like Earth or Partoga, the atmosphere is dense and stretches up for over a hundred Kios. Hokianga’s atmosphere stops about fifty Bios up. If all sixty members of the Midak’s crew made a Partogan ladder, standing on each other’s shoulders, the person at the top could put their hand into empty space while the person on the bottom had their feet planted on the ground. That wasn’t the only interesting thing though.  
  
Anahera Mita (our microbiologist) found a species of bacteria living just below ground level, feeding on whatever organic material was left over from Rotorua. She’s wagered everything she owns on a hypothesis that Hokianga’s tentative atmosphere is the result of subterranean microbes living all over the planet. She’s already gone up to the bridge to ask the Captain to keep Midak on the ground for another day so she can do some tests.   
  
Of course, I missed that part. Kaia told me afterwards. See, I’m stuck here in decon right now. I had to quit the spacewalk about ten minutes before everyone else because my suit was leaking air. When I got back inside the Midak, Taka Rangihau found a small hole in my left boot. and since we found microbial life on the planet, I have to go through decontamination, so we’re using the Emergency Containment Cell in the cargo bay as a decon chamber. I wasn’t sure how long I’m gonna be stuck in here, so I asked Kaia to grab my tablet and bring it back to me, which is how I’m talking to all of you now.

And here I am; stuck in a pressurized cylinder, patiently waiting to see if I come down with Space Madness or something stupid like that.   
  
I wonder if the humans ever had to decontaminate themselves after spacewalks...  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: On the Surface of Hokianga, 29 Oketopa, 685]_  
  
I just dodged a bullet! A Moana Ranginui shaped bullet! The medics let me out of decon just a few minutes ago, and right as I was leaving the cargo bay three people came in. Turns out, Captain Rangi, Petty Officer Ranginui, and Corporal Rangihau all tore their spacesuits while they were repairing the ship and needed to be decontaminated. I gave the Captain and the Corporal an encouraging smile as I left. It takes a different kind of courage to spend time cooped up in a small tube with an insensitive, antisocial Brakas like Moana.   
  
I got out of there as quick as I could and went back to the science labs. Anahera is still investigating the bacteria she found on the planet surface. I think I’ll drop by the Biology lab and see if she needs any help.  
  
_[Personal log paused]_  
_[Personal log resumed]_  
  
 Oh no. This is bad. This is really bad.   
  
Anahera’s bacteria (we really need a better name for this stuff) is loose. I found it running in my own bloodstream. And Anahera’s. And the whole Biology team for that matter. I ran full-tilt over to the decon chamber and drew the Captain’s blood. (I told him I needed it for a test) He’s got the bacteria too. Our decontamination procedures aren’t killing it; nor our standard antibiotic treatments.

Okay. Don’t panic. We need to avoid an epidemic here...  
  
**WHAT EPIDEMIC!?**  
   
KAIA! Holy Miranda, you made me jump! Look, I need you to get the Biology team together and tell them to meet me in the lab.  
  
_[Personal log paused]_

 _[Biology Lab Recording: 29 Oketopa, 685]_  
     
Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka: This on? Good. This is Misson Specialist Mira Mihaka, and I’m here in the Biology lab with Kaia and the whole Biology team. Say hello everyone!  
  
Specialist Kaia Patariki: This is Kaia Patariki saying “hi” to everyone at the Royal Science Academy! Rongo, if you’re still dating Ataahua when I get back, I’m going to smack some sense into you.  
  
Medic Tamaho Wihongi: My name is Tamaho Wihongi, and I just wanna say good morning to all of my friends and family in the Sitcala Principality!  
  
Medic Meto Kapua: I’m Meto Kapua. To my son, if the Her Highness the Queen chose you to become the new Prince of Magdayon, as I heard might happen, then let me congratulate you.   
  
Specialist Moe Kaa: Uh, is it my turn? Hi, I’m Moe Kaa. I dunno what to say... Hi mom!  
   
Medic Ria Areaiiti: Ria Areaiiti. And if my daughter is listening, I know about the boy in Candon. I knew the whole time.  
  
Specialist Hoana Awika: Wow. What a mother you are! I’m Hoana Awika, and I thank the Mountain for not giving me any kids. If my little brother Maui is listening, don’t worry about me. I’ll be home in time to help you climb the Mountain, so keep my gear clean, okay?  
  
Specialist Anahera Mita: And I’m Anahera Mita. Let the record show I didn’t agree to name my discovery the “Anaplague.”  
  
Medic Tamaho Wihongi: Oh, give it some time. It’ll grow on you.  
  
Specialist Moe Kaa: I think it’s perfect!  
  
Specialist Kaia Patariki: Hey! Let’s focus on actually figuring this out!  
   
Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka: Look, Anahera. You found this stuff. Tell us more about it.  
  
Specialist Anahera Mita: Right. So this bacteria, which I’m going to call “Ora Huakita” or "O-H" is an extremophile, which means it can survive and thrive in environments that would kill organisms like you or me. In the case of O-H and the planet Hokianga, we’re dealing with the abrupt loss of ninety-nine percent of the atmosphere, and the subsequent desiccation of the planet.  
  
Specialist Kaia Patariki: Desiccation?  
  
Medic Meto Kapua: All of the water dried up. Probably when the Invaders burned away the atmosphere.  
  
Specialist Anahera Mita: When I found the O-H outside the ship, I noticed that it was releasing small amounts of Carbon Dioxide as a waste product. Furthermore, the bacterial colony I found was growing in a cool, dark pit where a building used to be. I only had to dig a little way into the ground before I found trace organic compounds that could have easily been a corpse one hundred and sixty years ago. O-H lives below the ground, where radiation from the sun is less of a danger, and feeds of the remains of the people who used to live here. It converts food into energy to sustain itself, and the waste is converted into a gas.  
  
Medic Tamaho Wihongi: So if we land the Midak outside of the city?  
  
Specialist Anahera Mita: There won’t be any atmosphere. I suspect this thin layer of carbon dioxide is a bubble, covering the crater where Rotorua used to be.  
   
Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka: Hold on. None of this explains why a third of the crew has Anaplague in their blood right now!  
  
Specialist Anahera Mita: I’m getting there. Look, because the atmosphere is so small and tenuous, the local air pressure changes depending on the Anaplague in the ground – oh, holy Miranda, now I’m saying it! Ugh. Anyway, the bacteria is only just below the surface. The Midak landing and our feet tramping around kicked up dust, which blew around in those tiny puffs of wind that we caused. The Anaplague just got caught in the wind and landed on our spacesuits. Mira, you and a bunch of others all breached their spacesuits while they were outside right?  
   
Medic Ria Areaiiti: Yeah, but only microfractures. The hole in Tuterangi’s suit could only be seen through a microscope, remember?  
  
Specialist Anahera Mita: Bacteria are microscopic, Ria. Heck, they’re smaller than the hole Tuterangi punched in his glove, so that point of entry was big enough.  
  
Specialist Moe Kaa: But why didn’t the Anaplague die in the decon chamber?  
  
Medic Tamaho Wihongi: Actually, I think the Anaplague survived because our decontamination chamber was jury-rigged at the last second. That cylinder was designed to serve as a brig, not a quarantine. I’m sure we could find a dozen points of failure in that system if we looked close enough.  
  
Specialist Kaia Patariki: And now the for the one million Diram question: Is Anaplague dangerous to us? And if so, how do we get rid of it?  
   
Medic Ria Areaiiti: I can answer that. Everyone in this room is infected right? Does anyone actually feel sick? Cause I don’t. I don’t have a fever, my heart rate is normal, there’s just nothing wrong with me. Or any of you, or the Captain, or anyone else who went outside for that matter. The bacteria is adapted to the environment, but not us. It’s completely harmless to us and I don’t think it can survive anywhere else.   
  
Medic Meto Kapua: You might be right. Perhaps we should just let some time pass. The bacteria may die off on its own. The chances of it dying off will be greater if we leave this environment, too.  
  
Specialist Moe Kaa: I agree. Let’s just leave.  
   
Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka: All those in favor of leaving? .... yeah, that’s everyone. I’ll pass the word to the Captain. Ria, how much time should we give the bacteria to die off?  
   
Medic Ria Areaiiti: Not more than sixty hours, I think. That way we can be sure.  
  
Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka: Sounds good to me. I’ll talk to Captain Rangi about getting us out of here. While I’m gone, Kaia is in charge. Organize a ship-wide health assessment in sixty hours. Every member of the crew gets checked. No exceptions.  
  
Specialist Kaia Patariki: I’ve got this covered, don’t worry. Oh, and don’t forget your tablet.  
  
[Personal log closed]

 __[Personal Log Addendum: Outer Caspadence Star System, 30 Oketopa, 685]_  
_  
It’s been a dozen hours or so since we left Hokianga behind us. The military crew reinforced the outer hull of Deck Two around the spot where we hit a mine a few months back. Meanwhile, the Engineering Team pulled so many soil samples and pieces of city wreckage into the cargo bay that I can’t take one step down there without treading on something.   
  
Once our duty shift ended, Kaia and I went up to our Crew Bay and slept for nearly sixteen hours. In that time, the Midak cleared the System and is right on top of the next Hyperlane. We’re maneuvering into position for the jump to our next destination now. Before heading to my Radiation Shelter, I’m going to collect a sample of the Anaplague from my own blood, and leave the container out under a camera during the Hyperspace Jump. Obviously, I know the radiation coming from the Hyperspace Module will kill the bacteria instantly, but I want to document the event anyway. For science.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_Sys/ Hyperspace jump initiated._  
_Sys/ WARNING! Safety interrupt engaged! Multiple living organisms detected in unshielded location! Hyperspace jump aborted!_  
_Sys/ Safety interrupt disabled. Authorization: Captain Toa Rangi-Partogan Royal Navy._  
_Sys/ Hyperspace jump initiated._  
_Sys/ Post-Hyperspace system self-check underway._  
_Sys/ Self-check complete. All systems operational._  
_[Personal log addendum: Outer Beyu Star System: 30 Oketopa, 685]_  
  
 I...I don’t even know where to start. It defies all logic, all laws of the universe. This shouldn’t happen!  
  
That sample of Anaplague is STILL ALIVE!! I went into the Biology lab where I left it under the camera and it’s perfectly fine. I watched back the video and it was like watching the Mountain sleep. Absolutely nothing happened. I put the sample under a microscope and watched the little bacterium eat and reproduce like nothing had happened. It’s like, like... I don’t have the words. Nothing like this has ever happened before in the history of... anything.   
  
What the hell is this?! Organic life does not survive Hyperspace jumps! Has the universe gone mad?!  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: Outer Beyu Star System: 1 Noema, 685]_  
  
Okay, I’m calm. I’m cool. After the jump, the Biology team worked around the clock on this but we still don’t have an explanation for why a small culture of Extremophile bacteria was able to survive the intense Ionizing Radiation generated by the Hyperspace Module. Look, six hundred and eighty-five years of scientific knowledge says that gamma rays released by a Hyperspace Module should instantly kill anything bigger than a water molecule for about fifty Kios in all directions. The dose is just too high and too quick for anything to overcome. And yet here we are. The Anaplague Colony absorbed tens of thousands of Rads in a split second and doesn’t seem to have blinked the metaphorical eye.  
  
But that’s not the only surprise we had to deal with today. Once I saw that this bacteria could survive outside of a Hyperspace Module, I ordered the team to start taking blood samples from the rest of the crew immediately. Everyone who was infected on Hokianga still has Anaplague in their blood, including Kaia and I. It’s still alive and is clearly not going to die anytime soon. All told, exactly twenty-three of us are infected. That’s just over one quarter of the crew.   
  
Curiously, this stuff still hasn’t done anything to hurt us. No one’s sick, and as far as I can tell, the Anaplague isn’t contagious. So we’re not in any immediate danger, and have an indefinite amount of time to study the Midak’s new microbial passengers. I guess that means my work schedule for the next few weeks has written itself. First priority: Study the Anaplague and find a way to remove it from our bodies. Second priority: find out how the Anaplague survived an unshielded Hyperspace jump.  
  
Sounds like a plan. Ready? Break!  
  
Who the hell am I talking to?  
_  
_ [Personal log closed]  
_[Infected_crew_list file uploaded]_  
  
 ***Midak Crew Infected by O-H “Anaplague” Bacteria***

  1. Captain Toa Rangi
  2. Lieutenant Commander Tai Tunui
  3. Corporal Hika Tukino
  4. Petty Officer Matiu Rata
  5. Corporal Tamati Haare
  6. Corporal Hinemoa Maioha
  7. Corporal Olo Tuterangi
  8. Lieutenant Himi Poata
  9. Medic Tamaho Wihongi
  10. Medic Meto Kapua
  11. Medic Ria Areaiiti
  12. Specialist Moe Kaa
  13. Specialist Hoana Awika
  14. Specialist Anahera Mita
  15. Specialist Kaia Patariki
  16. Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka
  17. Corporal Ariki Ruru
  18. Lieutenant Ari Kopunui
  19. Petty Officer Moana Ranginui
  20. Private Enoka Makura
  21. Petty Officer Whawhakiterangi Tirikatene
  22. Private Nia Tawhiti
  23. Corporal Hori Rangihau




	8. Left Behind

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Outer Castor Star System, 30 Hakihea, 685]_  
  
It’s New Years Eve! Here’s to finding Earth before the end of Six-Eighty-Six! I was just thinking about what I would do if I was back home on Partoga. I’d be heading out to Archer’s Canyon with my family. We'd always walk the length of the canyon, following the Parekura River all the way back to its headwaters at the base of The Mountain just like we do every year. As the sun went down, we would come to the Silver Lake and feast with all of the other Pilgrims who made the trip. I’d thank the Mountain for giving us another year and I’d ask for one more.  
  
Actually, now that I say that out loud, it reminds me... two years ago, my niece Maki (she was five then) asked me why we couldn’t ask the Mountain for more than one year at a time. She said “I wanna ask the Mountain for infinity years!” So I told her about how the Mountain saw powerful people hoarding food and less fortunate fighting over what little remained in the fields. Little Maki was so scared when I explained how the Mountain lost its temper and exploded, killing almost everyone on the Partogan Continent, and throwing the Levakian one into a decade-long winter, and how everyone began to starve.  
  
Of course, Maki already knew about the Wars of the Famine. It’s the first thing they teach children at both school and church. She actually finished the story for me at this point. Maki told me about how the first Queen, Miranda the Great, appeased the Mountain by sharing her massive stockpiles of bread and fruit with the common people. Now, on the last day of the year, the Mountain looks over both the Partogan and Levakian continents to see if everyone has enough to eat. Everyone gathers together and shares their food with each other. Then, once the feasting is done, we ask the Mountain for another year. If the Mountain is pleased with us, it goes to sleep, giving us one more year. If the Mountain sees someone hoarding food, or using violence to take it from someone else, the Mountain will explode a second time. “And do we want that?” I asked Maki, and she always answers: “No Aunt Mira. That’s why we remind the Mountain every year that we’re still sharing food.”  
  
Exactly. Happy New Year Maki, wherever you are. And to the Mountain: I know I’m about a hundred light-years away, but I just know you can still hear us praying to you out here. No one is hungry aboard the HMS Midak tonight.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: Outer Castor Star System, 1 Hanuere, 686]_  
  
Happy New Year! I hope everyone at home is having a safe night. I just know my brother Tai and his daughter Maki are painting Candon red today. I would. Besides, today isn’t just a holiday at home, its also the one-year anniversary of our departure from Fort Daxia.  
  
Damn. One whole year in space. Time just flew.  
  
Lieutenant Commander Tunui is setting up a New Year’s party in the forward galley, and the whole crew is going to be there. But since the party doesn’t start for a few more hours, I’m going to take a few minutes to look back on everything we’ve done over the past year:  
  
So, Hanuere first, Six-Eighty-Five. We left Fort Daxia, salvaged a Levakian shipwreck, and got out of the Home System without any bumps or bruises. We jumped to Tediss, and the Science team got settled in. We set up six long-term experiments that’ll run the length of our mission: Irradiated bacteria, cosmic radiation vs cell walls, muscle atrophy tests, a ship-board AI, prototype defensive shields for the hull, and faster-than-light sensors. We’ve also set up a long term investigation into the hyperspace module, which is still catching fire whenever we pass too close to B-class stars.  
  
Heading into the middle of the year, we made great progress, leaving Partoga’s old southern border behind and entering what’s left of the Micore Empire. By the middle of Pipiri, our irradiated bacteria cultures had doubled at least once. It was the only experiment showing any real results. For everything else, the experimental groups and control groups remained identical. We decided to let more time pass.  
  
Then, ho boy, “that” happened. On Mahuru second, we flew into an old battlefield chasing an automated distress signal and plowed headlong into a war-era space mine. It’s a miracle no one actually died. But the Midak is a tough ship. We shrugged off our near death-experience and just moved on.  
  
Then, two months ago, right around the end of Oketopa, we found Hokianga and saw the ruins of Rotorua. The Midak landed on the surface to take a closer look, and we picked up a microscopic passenger while we were down there: an extremophile bacteria we call “Anaplage.” It’s named for Anahera, one of the scientists on the team. The Anaplague has somehow found a way to survive in the bloodstream of twenty-three of us, including myself. Since it isn’t hurting anyone or triggering an immune response, the Biology team isn’t in any hurry to purge the Anaplage. Besides, the microbe is somehow able to survive outside of a radiation shelter during Hyperspace Jumps, we really need to keep and study the Anaplage learn more about this ability.  
  
That’s everything interesting that’s happened so far. We’ve travelled about seventy-five and a half light-years, which is about one-quarter of the way to the search area where Sol might be.  
  
You know, why couldn’t the Queen fund a whole fleet of ships to do this mission? Did she really have so much faith in my math that she felt comfortable sending only one ship to find Sol?  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: Outer Xolton Star System, 20 Hanuere 686]_

__

So... we’re at Xolton. It's... it.... um... Uhg. You know what? I’m not the best person to talk about military history. No. Let me get an actual historian. Hey! Heyheyheyheyhey Nia.You’re the history buff.You tell’em about the Battle of Xolton.  
  
**Okay, hold on. Do I talk into this? Ahem. This thing on? Right. I’m Private Nia Tawhiti. Engine Room, second shift. So, for those of you who never took the Second Hyperspace War history class in school (don’t lie, I know that’s all of you) the Battle of Xolton was fought on Akuhata 2nd, 520 and was one of the last battles of the Third Stage of the war, which lasted between the years 514 and 520. This is where the stalemate broke in the Invader’s favor, the Galactic Front Line collapsed, and the Invaders began driving towards the Sol Star.**  
  
**Before the situation got out of control, the second and third planets of the Xolton system were colonized by the Vanians and developed into industrial centers. Both planets manufactured warships for the Micore Empire and the Vanian Government right up to the last second.**  
  
**Once the Galactic Front Line collapsed, the Triple Alliance fleet (Partogans, Levakians, and Humans) plus a few of our allies (Vanians, Micore, and Amadii) fell back to Xolton and set up a new defensive line. The Second Stormbreaker, a human called “Trojan” flew all the way out from Sol to take command of the combined fleets.**  
  
**Above the second planet in the system, “Trojan” (no one knows if they were a man or a woman) put together a multilayered defense of Xolton that was geared towards destroying as many Invader ships as possible.**  
  
**Our side got massacred. The Invaders cut through the Triple Alliance fleet like a hot knife through butter and suffered no casualties in return. The Invader fleet eviscerated our allies and when the Levakians tried to retreat, the enemy gave chase. Every moon the Levakians hid behind was blown to rubble, so they tried to hide in the thick atmosphere of the third planet. The Invaders just vaporized the whole thing. Once they were finished with our fleets, the enemy destroyed everything in-system before continuing on towards Earth.**  
  
**Most of the surviving Partogan ships fled to the Sol system since the enemy was between them and Trecta. “Trojan” barely got out with his or her life, and the Invader fleet pressed on towards Sol. In the end, all the defenders of Xolton managed to do was buy a little more time for Jericho and the other fourteen Stormbreakers to prepare the defense of Earth. Considering the state the galaxy is in now, this was clearly the best possible outcome.**  
  
**All told, the Battle of Xolton was a complete and total defeat for Partoga and her allies, but also a strategic coup d’état. That’s a human expression referring to a successful ploy on a large scale. Need any more stories, Mira?**  
  
One more thing: you mentioned that some Partogans survived this battle. What happened to them?  
  
**They flew to Sol and linked up with Queen Miranda’s flagship. In the year 521, some fifty thousand Partogans and about one hundred-fifteen thousand Levakians fought in the War in Heaven. Only forty-five Partogans survived, and thirty of them died on the return trip to Partoga, which took half a decade because the Hyperspace Network was knocked out. And at five years, two months, this is also the longest period of time our nation went without a Queen.**  
  
Damn. I feel sorry for the poor girl who became Queen Miranda the Fourth. Can you imagine being in charge of the First Reconstruction? It must have been a terrible time. Knowing that there were billions of Partogans and Levakians living off-world but having no way to reach them. I think I’d just cry all day.  
  
**She did her best given the circumstances. So did your mom, Mira.**  
  
What? There’s no way you’re old enough to remember my mother being Queen! You’re younger than me!  
  
**Not by much. It’s fuzzy, but I do remember. Speaking of the Throne, can I ask you a question about that?**  
  
Let’s hear it.  
  
**After your mom... er... Her Highness Kendra, passed away, why didn’t you enter the Election? You were the right age, you probably could have won the Throne for yourself.**  
  
Uh... Nia... you do know that the Royal Election hasn’t worked that way in almost three hundred years, right? The Church of the Mountain never would have put my name on the list of Candidates, let alone give me votes.  
  
**But you should have tried! Even if you lost, you would have been set for life! Queen Candidates don’t have to go on seven-year voyages to provide for their families, you know.**  
  
Hey, I appreciate the concern, but seriously. The Royal Election hasn’t been democratic since Queen Emily. If the Church doesn’t approve of a girl, then she get doesn’t the Throne. It’s as simple as that. I rubbed too many clergymen the wrong way when I was a kid. I just had the attitude most girls get when their mothers die, and the Church officials didn’t take too kindly to it. It’ll be five hundred years before another Mihaka sits on the Throne, mark my words.  
  
**So... bear with me here... if the Church of the Mountain didn’t have a say-**  
  
Stop, just...stop. I don’t wanna go down that hole.  
  
I’ **m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. Uh, you can have this back now...**  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: Inner Xolton Star System, 22 Hanuere 686]_

__

I know I should have been making log entries the past couple of days, but I was so off my game after talking to Nia that I just had to take some time for myself. I don’t know if this came across in any of my previous entries, but I don’t talk about politics if I can help it. My mother was the seventeenth Queen of Partoga. Yay. Let’s move on.  
  
Anyway… about an hour ago, the Midak was sifting through a huge cloud of battle debris in orbit above the second planet, when we found something...really...really weird. We found a Levakian fighter craft docked in the hangar bay of a Micore Battleship.  
  
That’s just not possible. Levakian starships were completely incompatible with Micore technology. Different sized docking clamps, the fuel pipes have different configurations, oh, and don’t get me started on the fact that there’s no air on a Micore ship for a Levakian to breathe. Whoever accomplished this clearly did it in the middle of the battle. It’s such an impressive feat of engineering that Captain Rangi has stopped the Midak so my team can do a full investigation. I’ll add additional reports to this log entry as we figure out more about what happened here.  
  
_[Investigation Report 1.1 – 10:35 hours – 22 Hanuere 686]_  
  
It took all of fifteen minutes for Nikau and Tangaroa to spacewalk over to the Micore Battleship. They went over every inch of the suspicious strike craft. It’s a Silvestris-Class Heavy Fighter. Our records indicate these ships were used to hunt enemy bombers and protect allied capital ships. The Silvestris can hold a crew of two: the pilot and the tail gunner. We figured all of that out pretty quickly. So the next questions are: How did the pilot connect this thing to an incompatible alien ship? Why did they do it?  
  
_[Investigation Report 1.2 – 16:09 hours – 22 Hanuere 686]_  
  
The Levakian fighter is now in the Midak’s cargo bay. It just barely fits. Fortunately, because Partogans and Levakians shared a homeworld, their programming language is almost identical to ours. In a few hours, we’ll download the onboard computer and figure out what happened here. Meanwhile, I’ve got Eru, Manawa, Tipi, and Watahui stripping the vessel down for anything useful.  
  
_[Investigation Report 1.3 – 20:57 hours – 22 Hanuere 686]_  
  
Download complete! Next, all of the data in the ship’s computer has to be translated from Levakian into Partogan. Given that the Levakians went extinct during the war, we’ll just have to work off the Levakian database in the Midak’s computer. It should only take a few minutes...  
  
...And we’re getting something! This fighter, callsign “Puma Five” was stationed aboard the Pardus-Class Battleship “Growltiger.” The Growltiger engaged the Invaders alongside the rest of the Triple Alliance fleet during the Battle of Xolton. Puma Five flew at least three sorties before being hit by flak and forced to land aboard the Partogan Battleship “Krakua.” Right after Puma Five landed in the hangar bay, the Krakua was bisected by an enemy beam weapon.  
  
That’s where the record stops. Now I have to wait for the computer to finish translating the rest.  
  
_[Investigation Report 1.4 – 29:10 hours – 22 Hanuere 686]_  
  
I don’t... I don’t have words... There’s nothing I can say about this. Here, you just listen to these:  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 2 Akuhata, 520 from the HMS Krakua]_  
Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is Tech Sergeant Kahu Tamanui calling all Triple Alliance ships in range. I’m trapped aboard the HMS Krakua and everyone else is dead. Please turn around and come back for me! I’m still here! I’m still on the Krakua!  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 2 Akuhata, 520 from the HMS Krakua]_  
Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is Kahu Tamanui of the Partogan Royal Navy calling the unidentified vessel. I’m trapped aboard the HMS Krakua. Drives disabled. Multiple hull breaches. Hyperspace Module destroyed. Request immediate extraction!  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 2 Akuhata, 520 from the HMS Krakua]_  
DAMN IT! I CAN SEE YOU! YOUR SHIP IS FIVE THOUSAND KIOS OFF MY PORT BOW! RESPOND! FOR THE LOVE OF MIRANDA! ANSWER ME!  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 2 Akuhata, 520 from the HMS Krakua]_  
COME BACK! DAMN IT! Come...back....  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 15 Akuhata, 520 from the HMS Krakua]_  
Mayday… Mayday. My name is Kahu Tamanui, and I’m calling from the Partogan Battleship Krakua. I’ve been trapped aboard this ship for about two weeks and need rescue immediately. Any friendly ships in the area, please respond!  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 19 Oketopa, 520 from the HMS Lesovikk]_  
I have no idea if this is getting out, but it’s worth a shot. This is Partogan Tech Sergeant Kahu Tamanui transmitting in the blind. I believe I am the lone survivor of the Triple Alliance Fifteenth Fleet. I’m currently in the debris field orbiting Xolton. I can’t tell you which ship I’m on because I keep moving around. I know I’m on a Partogan ship though, using a Levakian fighter to keep on the move. My hope is to find a working Hyperspace Module and jury-rig it onto this fighter. I’ve fully restored life support on one of these ships and built some solar panels to keep it running. Hopefully, I won’t be stuck out here for too long. Either someone will find me, or I’ll run out of food, water, air, or some combination of all three.  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 30 Noema, 520 from the HMS Tuyet]_  
Sergeant Tamanui transmitting in the blind from the Xolton system. I’ve set up a permanent base of operations aboard the Partogan Cruiser Tuyet. There’s years’ worth of food and water here and the ship is mostly intact, aside from the sublight engines and hyperspace module being missing. So if any rescuers are on the way, you’re looking for a cruiser named “Tuyet.” If I’m not here, wait a day or so before leaving, because I might come back if I still haven’t found a working Hyperspace Module. I'm working on a plan to boost my signal. Pray to the Mountain for me that it works and someone hears me.  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 1 Hanuere, 521 from the HMS Jovan]_  
This is the HMS Jovan of the Partogan Royal Navy transmitting in the blind. My engines are disabled and my Hyperspace Module is destroyed. I’m adrift in the Xolton system. Request immediate extraction.  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 3 Hanuere, 521 from the HMS Nikila]_  
This is the HMS Nikila of the Partogan Royal Navy transmitting in the blind. My engines are disabled and my Hyperspace Module is destroyed. I’m adrift in the Xolton system. Request immediate extraction.  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 4 Hanuere, 521 from the MCC SCC-355]_  
This is the SCC-355 of the Micore Defensive Formation transmitting in the blind. My engines are disabled and my Hyperspace Module is destroyed. I’m adrift in the Xolton system. Request immediate extraction.  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 4 Hanuere, 521 from the LVK Growltiger]_  
This is the LVK Growltiger of the Partogan Royal Navy-Levakian Contingent transmitting in the blind. My engines are disabled and my Hyperspace Module is destroyed. I’m adrift in the Xolton system. Request immediate extraction.  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 6 Hanuere, 521 from the JSDF Hyuuga]_  
This is the JSDF Hyuuga of the United Nations of Earth transmitting in the blind. My engines are disabled and my Hyperspace Module is destroyed. I’m adrift in the Xolton system. Request immediate extraction.  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 7 Hanuere, 521 from the ADD Ilamaha Iloobey]_  
Damn, I’m proud of this. For the past two weeks, I flew that Levakian piece of junk all over the debris field and fired up distress signals on any ship that’s mostly in one piece. There’s no way all of them are actually transmitting, some of them were too pulverized. I’m certain that at least two or three of those ships are broadcasting though. Now I sit back on the Tuyet with my massive supply of food, water, and air. And I wait.  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 7 Maehe, 521 from the HMS Tuyet]_  
It’s been half a year since the battle. I haven’t seen nor heard from the rest of the galaxy since then. Is the war over? Did Agamemnon reach Earth? Heck... Is Jericho even alive?  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 30 Pipiri, 521 from the HMS Tuyet]_  
Hello? Is anyone out there?  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 29 Hoongongoi, 521 from the HMS Tuyet]_  
Almost one year. I haven’t seen another living thing for that long. Haven’t spoken to another person. No news.  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 17 Akuhata, 521 from the HMS Tuyet]_  
Am I the only one left?  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 2 Mahuru, 521 from the HMS Tuyet]_  
I FOUND ONE! There’s a working Hyperspace Module on a Micore Battleship! I’ve already started moving all of my stuff over there. This morning I built an adapter for my fighter so I can dock and refuel in the Micore hangar bay. I'll be moving in there full-time after all. It’ll take weeks to attach the module to my fighter, but I’m absolutely certain that I can use it to escape this dump! Yes! YES!  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 10 Mahuru, 521 from the TCC-001]_  
I’ve done it! I just finished attaching the Hyperspace Module to my fighter! I’m planning to do a simple flight test tomorrow morning. If everything goes well, then I’ll fly out to the Hyperlane and start heading towards Partoga on the day after tomorrow. This is Tech Sergeant Kahu Tamanui, saying goodbye to this dump!  
  
_[DISTRESS CALL: Sent: 11 Mahuru, 521 from the TCC-001]_  
WHAT THE F---- WHAT IS THAT!?!? There’s something coming this way really fast! It’s-I can’t even- HOLY MOTHER OF MIRANDA!!  
_..._  
_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Outer Xolton Star System, 23 Hanuere 686]_  
  
Sergeant Tamanui didn’t make it. Best I can tell, he must have witnessed the last few seconds of Jericho’s battle with Agamemnon. He would have died of radiation poisoning in less than a minute. Just enough time to know he was dying.  
  
This is just one soldier, on a single battlefield. The Second Hyperspace War lasted for twenty-one years and spanned half of the galaxy. How many more scenes like this will we have to look at before we find Earth? How many on the way home?  
  
Oh, Miranda. What is Earth going to be like? More of this? Or something worse? I can't help feeling that for the first time, the path ahead seems...darker.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_

__


	9. A Global Prison

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Inner Cuunbar Star System, 30 Maehe, 686]_

Have you ever known that you would have to confront something unpleasant, so you delayed and procrastinated as much as you could? Did you stretch out every day, hour, and minute as long as possible? I was in those boots this week. Ever since I plotted the Midak’s flightpath towards the Primary Search Area where Sol might be, I knew we’d have to fly through the Cuunbar System. I talked with Astronavigators about trying to find a way around this place, argued with the Captain about taking a detour that might add three years to our journey. But there was nothing for it. We had to pass through this system eventually.  
  
Since I’m trying to avoid Private Tawhiti right now, I researched all of the history you need to know in advance. So, take a few moments off and let me tell you the story of why the third planet in the Cuunbar system is encased in an impenetrable shield.  
  
The third planet in system is Amadiio. This planet was a client-state of the Micore Empire and was one of the smallest states in the galaxy; their sphere of influence stretching just one lightyear in any direction. The Amadii themselves were avian creatures: flightless birds with big, heavy bodies and really long and powerful legs. Nothing in the galaxy could run the hundred-Bio dash faster than an Amadii.   
  
Their first contact with extraterrestrial life was with the Vanians in the year 410. By pure luck, the Vanians were also avians. Unlike the big and muscular Amadii, Vanians had some of the most beautiful and extravagant plumage of any bird in the galaxy. Hang on, I’ll upload a picture of an Amadii and a Vanian so you can tell the difference:  
  
_[Amadiio_diplomacy file uploaded]_

__

  
Okay, now here’s a Vanian:  
  
  
_[Vania_diplomacy file uploaded]_

___ _

  
So the Amadii started sending exploration missions into space, to see what else there was in the galaxy. They met the Micore Empire, which was quite friendly towards them. Then their ship flew into our space. The Amadii science ship didn’t respond to hails, so it was blown to bits by a Levakian destroyer. Partoga and Amadiio never really got along with each other until the war started.  
   
The Amadii didn’t really have a space fleet when the Invaders showed up, so they threw themselves into the Micore sphere of influence in exchange for protection. While Micore fleets defended Amadiio, the Empire started sending weapons and technology to Amadiio so that it could defend itself. One of the weapons Amadiio received from the Micore Empire was a “Colossus,” which is basically a moon-sized weapons platform designed for planetary bombardment.  
  
The Amadii Colossus was armed with a Global Pacifier: It envelopes an entire planet inside an energy shield which is completely impenetrable. Nothing can get through except for a few waveforms of light. The planet is permanently cut off from the rest of the universe. Once the Colossus was transferred to Amadii control, a huge political crisis went up in their government. No one could decide what to do with it. Some wanted to go on the offensive and dent the Invader’s lines as badly as possible. Others wanted to use the Colossus defensively.   
  
But there was one person, a member of the Amadii Navy, who had another idea. On the fifteenth of Akuhata, year 514, this individual (we’ve lost his name since then) staged a hostile takeover of the Colossus’ command center while the politicians were still arguing with each other. Then he turned the Global Pacifier on Amadiio itself.  
  
The rouge Amadii navy officer was arrested by the Partogan Royal Navy. Sadly, we don’t know why he Pacified his own home because the ship carrying him was destroyed by the Invaders when they swept through the system a few days later.  
  
As for the planet and everyone down there; everyone survived. The Invaders fired their own planet-killing weapon at Amadiio but it didn’t have any effect on the shield. The entire planet is now a prison for all four billion people down there. And their decedents, and theirs too... and so on for the rest of time.   
  
I’m telling this story because of something we noticed three days ago: The entire planet is trying to talk to us.  
  
The Midak has been in orbit of Amadiio ever since we first noticed. Every time we cross the terminator and fly over the planet’s night side, the whole surface starts blinking and flickering in sequence. Entire cities are lighting up in patterns, and we can see massive, well-lit structures in the countryside built for the sole purpose of sending light signals to anyone in orbit.  
  
Since our sensors can’t penetrate the shield, Captain Rangi has ordered everyone to find a planet-facing window and to write down everything they see about the surface of Amadiio. I’m going to copy down my sightings here for my own research. They might be useful later.  
  
_[Personal log closed]  
[Personal log addendum: 1 Paenga-whāwhā, 686, Inner Cuunbar Star System]_

  1. 24:40 hours: Saw a massive floating structure in the southern ocean on the day side. It’s sprawling outward like a spider web.
  2. 24:58: There’s a small town on the coast of the bigger continent which has millions of rocks and flowers arranged to form a picture of Queen Miranda the Third. I guess they haven’t forgotten us.
  3. 25:30: As we crossed into the daylight side again, I spotted the population of a whole city. I’m serious, all of the people living there had gathered in the countryside to watch the Midak fly past.
  4. 26:20: It happened again. A crowd of tens of thousands of people.
  5. 29:35: The words “Ua palekana mākou” are carved into the ground. Each letter is a Kio and a half tall. The words have clearly been there for a century or more, because the first five letters in “palekana” are filled with water. They’re obviously meant for anyone flying past.



Lieutenant Anaru recognized the words carved on the ground. He told me that it’s a very old dialect of Levakian that was only spoken by Levakians who were born somewhere other than Partoga itself. So there’s a very decent possibility that the Levakians may not be extinct after all. There could be a few living on Amadiio. Their species might never fly in space again, but at least they’re alive. It’s better than the alternative.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum 4_ _Paenga-whāwhā, 686, Inner Cuunbar Star System]_  
  
*cough* *cough* I’m losing my voice right now, so I’m gonna record this quickly... Ahem, early this morning, we did a low pass over a big desert on the smaller continent. We got as low as possible without hitting the shield and flashed our floodlights repeatedly, just to say hello to a small village in the middle of that desert. About forty minutes later, we flew past the same spot again and saw a few thousand Amadii people swarming around the village in the desert. *cough* They were digging a big network of trenches all around the town, and they were still digging when we flew past again.  
  
Five passes later, we finally saw what was going on: The Amadii had dug a colossal star map into the ground. The desert village represented the Cuunbar System itself and there were hundreds of lines around it; standing for the now-defunct Hyperspace Network. The Amadii people placed powerful spotlights down on the desert to show star systems, and connected them based on the “Hyperlanes” that used to exist there. But here’s the important part:  
  
The Amadii drew arrows in the desert floor, and used a red spotlight to highlight one particular star system: Atlas. We counted no fewer than fifteen arrows pointing directly at the system. *cough* Also, it’s the only star on the “Map” labelled with a name. *cough* ... The Levakian words “E hele i kēia” are carved into the dirt with a bright red arrow pointing directly at the Atlas system.  
  
Captain Rangi gathered the whole bridge crew, myself, and all of the officers together for a meeting. I told them that the Atlas system is off my prescribed flightpath. It’s almost a full month out of our way, and that investigating whatever anomaly might be there could put us between three and five months behind schedule. Remember, we’ve been in space for a year already, this mission is scheduled to take seven years, and we only have enough food for eight. We can’t afford a major delay like this. *cough*  
  
I argued against investigating Atlas for nearly three hours, and I had to *cough* debate Commander Aranui the whole time. She really, REALLY, wants to know what’s going on over there.  
  
I tried my best, but Rangi is the Captain, and he overruled me. The Midak is leaving Amadiio orbit sometime tonight and we’re heading toward the Atlas system. I’ll attach an edited version of my flightpath to show where we’re going before I go.  
  
*cough* My throat is sore, I’m tired, and I think my leg muscles are starting to atrophy from the ship’s microgravity. I feel... bad. Just bad. I'm going to take the rest of the evening off.  
  
_[Flightplan_mk2 file uploaded]_

_____ _ _ _

_[Personal log closed]_


	10. Slipgate

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Outer Atlas Star System, 22 Paenga-whāwhā, 686]_

Sometimes I just have to eat my words. For the entire month-and-a-half long journey to Altas, I whined and complained that we were wasting our time and the Midak’s resources by coming out here. I really did think we were adding three or five months to our trip for no good reason. Well, I was wrong. We added three to five months to our trip for a VERY GOOD reason.  
  
There’s a Slipgate here! And a large one at that! You people listening to this in the future don’t understand how big of a discovery this is! Slipgates are naturally occurring Hyperspace Gates. There’s no Quantum Wavefront or deadly gamma radiation, so I can stand on the bridge and actually look out the window as the jump happens! No Radiation Shelter; no lead-lined bodysuits, just pure, instantaneous Hyperspace! It’s so exiting!  
  
As soon as we noticed there was a Slipgate in the system, both the bridge crew and the Science team scrambled to prepare for the trip through it. What? OBVIOUSLY we’re going to fly through and see what’s on the other side. Unlike your standard time-consuming Hyperspace Jump, Slipgate Jumps are instantaneous. Basically, it’s like the entire galaxy is folded in half with the starting point and destination right on top of each other. Take two steps to the left and you’re on the other galactic arm or something incredible like that.  
  
Right now, we’re scheduled to go through the Slipgate in about three hours; and I’m gonna spend all three wisely. All eighteen members of the Science team (myself included) are awake and working fast. We’ve set up a large number of experiments to run at the moment we cross the Slipgate’s event horizon. Multiple samples of the Anaplague are under observation, there are a dozen cameras pointing at the Hyperspace Module to see if it catches fire again, we’ve also mounted a new sensor array on the Comms Tower to measure radiation from both the Slipgate and the Midak itself.  
  
Oh, and Manawa ran an update for the ship’s AI. The Midak’s navigation system wasn’t designed for Slipgate Jumps, which is the closest science has ever come to teleportation itself. One other thing to consider: we don’t know where the exit point is; so the physics team has broken out all of their star charts and are marking every known Slipgate in the galaxy, trying to figure out where this one leads. If they can figure out where the exit is quickly, we can plan accordingly.  
  
In the meantime, Captain Rangi and I have figured out a few contingencies:

  1. If the exit point is at least five hundred light years away from the Primary Search Area (where Sol might be) we’ll commit to the jump and resume our search for the Humans from there.
  2. If the exit point is in an uncharted region of space, we’ll double back to the entry point here in the Atlas system and drop a marker buoy for future explorers.
  3. If we arrive near the Breach Point (the place where the Invaders entered our galaxy) we would double back to Atlas and drop every marker buoy we have, each one broadcasting a message to stay away. And, there’s also the one option I don’t want to consider:
  4. If the exit point takes us to within fifty light years of Partoga, we’ll call it a day, go home, and let some future explorer try to find Earth. Obviously, I don’t want that last one to happen. I actually tied to talk the Captain out of this one, but he said his commitment to the Partogan Royal Navy means he would have to obey several classified directives if we discover a Slipgate leading straight back to our planet.



 That’s the plan as it stands. And now we wait for an hour or so. I’ll make another recording when it’s time!  
  
_[Personal log paused]_  
_[Personal log resumed]_  
  
 Okay, last update before we go through the gate. Captain Rangi says he wants me to take the Bridge Voice Recording for scientific purposes once the Slipgate Jump is finished. Don’t mind if I do, Sir.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_Sys/ Hyperspace jump initiated._  
_Sys/ WARNING! Safety interrupt engaged! Multiple living organisms detected in unshielded locations! Hyperspace jump aborted!_  
_Sys/ Safety interrupt disabled. Authorization: Commander Anika Aranui - Partogan Royal Navy._  
_Sys/ WARNING! Safety interrupt engaged! Hyperspace Module is insufficiently charged. Hyperspace jump aborted!_  
_Sys/ Safety interrupt disabled. Authorization: Lieutenant Ari Kopunui - Partogan Royal Navy_  
_Cmd_usr/ disable_all_interrupts Authorization: Captain Toa Rangi - Partogan Royal Navy_  
_[BRIDGE VOICE RECORDING: 22 PAENGA-WHĀWHĀ, 686, 14:00 HOURS]_  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Welcome back to the Bridge, Miss Mihaka. Where’s your friend? She’s going to miss the show.  
  
_Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka:_ Kaia’s on the way. I hope you don’t mind, but she’s bringing half the Physics Team with her.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Not at all. I’ll have the Kirikiri twins open up a few more workstations. Do they need a connection to the computers in the labs?  
  
_Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka:_ Yes, that would be perfect.  
  
_Specialist Kaia Patariki:_ We’re here! Wow, it feels so weird to walk around the ship while Hyperspace Alarms are sounding on all four decks. I’m not the only one thinking that, right?  
  
_Corporal Arapeta Kirikiri:_ Me too, Ma’am. It’s the red lights. They make the corridors feel smaller.  
  
_Corporal Arapata Kirikiri:_ Claustrophobic.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Patariki, you and your scientists will be working here, next to the Kirikiri twins. You can also pull the tapes when we’re done here.  
  
_Commander Anika Aranui:_ Captain, the engine room reports green lights across the board. We can enter the Slipgate on your word.  
  
_Specialist Watahui Wiki:_ Mihaka, the Science Team is ready to jump. All experiments are accounted for and under observation.  
  
_Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka:_ Captain; whenever you’re ready.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Aranui, put me on the PA... Attention all sections, this is the Captain! Give me a GO-NO GO for Slipgate! Sensors?  
  
_Lieutenant Tuu Anaru:_ GO!  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Communications Tower?  
  
_Lieutenant Himi Poata:_ We are go!  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Science Team?  
  
_Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka:_ GO!  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Power Plant?  
  
_Lieutenant Tama Hetet:_ Go for Slipgate!  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Hyperspace Module?  
  
_Lieutenant Ari Kopunui:_ GO!  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Engine Room?  
  
_Lieutenant Kahumanu Ngakaukawa:_ GO for Slipgate!  
  
_Commander Anika Aranui:_ Captain, the Midak is GO for Slipgate.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Perfect. Kirikiri... the older one... Take us into the Slipgate, engines ahead slow.  
  
_Corporal Arapata Kirikiri:_ Yes sir. All ahead slow.  
  
_Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka:_ Anyone else feeling queasy right now?  
  
_Commander Anika Aranui:_ I’m a little lightheaded.  
  
_Specialist Watahui Wiki:_ I didn’t eat this morning. I thought I’d puke.  
  
_Specialist Kaia Patariki:_ You really shouldn’t skip meals, Wata-  
  
_Commander Anika Aranui:_ Silence on the bridge! Slipgate minus fifteen!  
  
_Corporal Arapeta Kirikiri:_ Is this gonna work?  
  
_Commander Anika Aranui:_ Slipgate minus ten!  
  
_Corporal Arapata Kirikiri:_ Ask me again in a minute!  
  
_Commander Anika Aranui:_ Slipgate minus five! Four! Three! Two! One! SLIPGATE!!  
  
_Sys/ Hyperspace Jump initiated._  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ STOP ALL ENGINES!  
  
_Sys/ Post-Hyperspace system self-check underway._  
  
_Sys/ Self-check complete. Navigation error, hyperspace safety interrupt disabled. No other errors found._  
  
_Specialist Kaia Patariki:_ Wait... is that it?  
  
_Corporal Arapata Kirikiri:_ Nothing happened.  
  
_Specialist Kaia Patariki:_ I think something happened; look out the window! All the stars moved!  
  
_Corporal Arapeta Kirikiri:_ We’re definitely in another star system. Look there! That dim point of light thirty degrees off the port bow! That’s Atlas!  
  
_Commander Anika Aranui:_ Incredible. We were over there half a minute ago.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Damn Kirikiri. You have really good eyes. Mihaka? Is he right? Did we make it?  
  
_Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka:_ The Navigation computer is recalibrating now. Hold on... okay, we’ve landed in the Ustir Star System!  
  
_Commander Anika Aranui_ : Ustir? Where the heck is that?  
  
_Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka:_ Uh, hang on... I’m working... okay! It looks like we left the galaxy’s Papatūānuku Arm entirely and we’re in a minor spur called Kaiwhai, just outside the Ranginui Arm. We are...What the-?! Oh, Holy Miranda... we OVERSHOT the last reported position of Sol by over three hundred light years! We’re actually inside the Primary Search Area!  
  
_Many voices:_ _*cheers*_  
  
_Commander Anika Aranui:_ That’s perfect! We can start looking for Sol right away!  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Commander, sound the ship. I want to know if anything broke during the jump. Mihaka. I’m giving your Science Team free reign. Take all the data you need from the Navigation Computer, and pull the tapes. We’re definitely going to use this Slipgate to go home when the mission’s over.  
  
_Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka:_ Already on it, Sir. Kaia: I’m heading down to the Engineering Lab. If you hit those blue buttons on your right, the Voice Recorder will-  
  
_[FLIGHT DATA RECORDING SYSTEM DISABLED, BRIDGE VOICE RECORDER OFFLINE.]_  
_[TIME OF SYSTEM FAILURE: 22 PAENGA-WHĀWHĀ, 686, 14:09 HOURS]_  
_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Outer Ustir Star System, 22 Paenga-whāwhā, 686]_  
  
That. Was... Exhilarating!! I never really appreciated what “instantaneous” meant until today! The transition from one system to the other was seamless and immediate. It’s all hands on deck in the science labs right now. Yes, we have to debrief and tear down all of our Slipgate experiments, but more important is the fact that we’re officially inside the Search Area. Thanks to the Slipgate, we’re a full year-and-a-half ahead of schedule. This gives us a maximum of two and a half years to scour this corner of the galaxy and try to find the humans, for at the very least, figure out what happened to them.  
  
Starting tomorrow, we’re going to start finding and cataloguing all of the stars that are “red shifting.” (moving away from us) Sadly, Sol isn’t part of any known star cluster, so we’re just going to chase anything that looks like a G-Class star and listen for the radio signals put out by technologically advanced civilizations.  
  
Kaia thinks the Humans are dead, that they were wiped out in the War in Heaven a hundred sixty years ago.  
  
Let’s go prove her wrong.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_


	11. Message in a Bottle

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Inner Sirius Star System, 9 Pipiri, 686]_

   
Hard work always feels so much easier when you feel confident that it’s going to pay off. My team has documented and are tracking no fewer than seven hundred stars that are moving in the general direction Sol went after the War in Heaven. So, based on information gleaned from survivors of the battle, here’s the information we’re going to use to track Sol down:

  * Sol is a G-Class Yellow Dwarf. Since only a century has gone by, it won’t have changed at all. We can safely ignore red, blue, purple, and orange giants or dwarfs.
  * Over three-hundred and fifty thousand starships fought in the War in Heaven. The massive amount of radio transmissions given off in the heat of battle are still radiating out and away from Sol, acting like a homing beacon we can use to locate it.
  * Millions of weapons were fired in all directions during the conflict. As we get closer to Sol, we should start seeing stray mass driver rounds, missiles, railgun slugs, and other combat-related projectiles.



  
Optimistically, we’ll find Sol using predictive math before committing to a lot of Hyperspace Jumps. That’s the plan anyway.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: Outer Sirius Star System, 10 Pipiri, 686]_  
   
There’s an Invader ship wrecked in low orbit of Sirius III. Looks like it got on the wrong end of a Phased Cannon Array. The Captain is giving the thing a wide berth, and we’re just going to jump into the next system.

 _[Personal log closed]_  
  
_Sys/ Hyperspace jump initiated._  
_Sys/ Post-Hyperspace system self-check underway._  
_Sys/ Self-check complete. All systems operational._  
_[Personal log addendum: Outer Gliese Star System, 10 Pipiri, 686]_

Well, THAT was fun! Can you hear the sarcasm in my voice? Yeah, you can. Pretty much the instant we jumped into Gliese system, a railgun slug came out of nowhere and grazed the dorsal section of the ship. It missed our Comms Tower by a Bio or two and carved a small trench in the outer layer of armor. The impact was so loud I swear my heart stopped for a moment.   
  
We can’t detect any ships in the system, which means that round was from the Second Hyperspace War, and it spent the past century and a half just wandering through space, waiting to hit something. Something like a Kopeke-class Science Vessel that was just rematerializing after a Hyperspace Jump, perhaps. Uhg.  
  
We’re not planning to stay in the Gliese System. There are a handful G-class stars nearby, and only half of them are charted. If we’re lucky, one of them might be Sol. So we’re going to fly to the other side of the system, pick a hyperlane, and head out. I’m crossing my fingers that nothing else surprises us on the way out of the system.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[BRIDGE VOICE RECORDING: 12 PIPIRI, 686, 22:37 HOURS]_  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ I was about to turn in for the night, Commander. This had better be good.  
  
_Lieutenant Commander Tai Tunui:_ It is Sir. There’s a small device about two million Kios off the starboard bow. It’s unpowered, but for some reason its on a hyperbolic extrasolar trajectory.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ A device? How big is it?  
  
_Lieutenant Commander Tai Tunui:_ Maybe five Bios across? It’s so tiny, we almost missed it. We only spotted it because there’s some reflective surface on it.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Right. What’s so interesting about it then?  
  
_Lieutenant Commander Tai Tunui:_ Well, when the sensor suite looked over the object, they found it was made out of the kind of metal alloys found in pre-FTL spacecraft. Whoever put that device there doesn’t have Hyperspace technology.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ _*Yawn*_ Did you check the historical star maps? What’s the nearest habitable planet?  
  
_Lieutenant Commander Tai Tunui:_ I did Sir. Before, during, and after the Second Hyperspace War, the closest habitable world to the Gliese star is Earth. Sir, that is a prewar space probe from the Humans.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Stop all engines! Get Mihaka up here right now!

_[Recording Stopped]_

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Inner Gliese Star System, 13 Pipiri, 686]_  
  
Uncross your fingers because Naming Day came early this year! Last night someone found a Human space probe just drifting through the system and brought it into the cargo bay. There’s just so much to process here I don’t even know where to start!  
  
First thing’s first: how do we know this is a human ship? Well, after Partoga made First Contact with Earth in Year 520, the Humans gave us a detailed list of all their pre-FTL space probes, along with their approximate locations. We couldn’t account for all of them because the Second Hyperspace War was still happening. Honestly, I always thought the Invaders had destroyed this probe and its sister ships.  
  
Next: How old is this thing? According the information brought back to Partoga by our soldiers, the Humans launched five interstellar probes. All of them were interplanetary probes that got kicked out of the Sol system by gravitational forces. The first one was launched in 456, a second in 457. The third and fourth were launched in 461 and the fifth went up in the year 490. Depending on which of the five we picked up, it’s between 230 and 196 years old.  
  
And finally, what are we going to do with this probe? As I record this, my Science Team is in the cargo bay, going over the whole thing. We’re not going to tear it to pieces just yet. If the Humans are alive, they might want it back. We’re only going to partially disassemble it, so we can get a look at the interior, then piece it back together if or when we find Earth.  
   
So I’m gonna go now, and see what’s inside this thing. I’ll record back again soon.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: Inner Gliese Star System, 15 Pipiri, 686]_  
   
I haven’t left the cargo bay where the Human space probe is being kept for the past two days. So many incredible things have happened, and something even more fascinating is about to happen. I’ll start where I left off on the thirteenth: We were about to detach some of the probe’s scientific equipment when Manawa spotted a gold-colored disk on the side of the probe’s main body. At first, Eru and Kaia wanted to remove it right away, but I told them to hold their Rahi and wait so I could take a picture.  
_  
[Human_space_probe_outer_body_with_anomaly_15 file added]_

___ _

We all stopped to take a closer look, and Tangaroa was the first to spot all of the writing and pictographs on the surface of the disk. As soon as he pointed them out, I declared the Cargo Bay a “Clean Zone” and ordered everyone out. (I’m the leader of the Science Team. I can do that)   
  
For most of the morning hours of the fourteenth, the military crew sent in sterile robots to examine the disk as closely as possible without actually touching it. Scanners picked up some really badly degraded genetic material; almost certainly left behind by the Humans who build this probe, or more specifically, the one who attached the gold disk to it. On my instruction, Meto Kapua (wearing a biohazard suit) went over every piece of the probe with a pathogen detector. He was trying to find a certain airborne virus that afflicted both Humans and Partogans during the War. Good news is: it wasn’t there. Bad news is: 225 years ago, Humans were really filthy creatures. The probe is covered in all sorts of bacteria and other microorganisms from Earth. Obviously they should all long dead, but we don’t actually have the means to verify that EVERY Human pathogen is actually dead.  
  
So around midday yesterday, we strapped everything down and vented the Cargo Bay into space. Then, just to make sure all of the pathogens on the Human probe were really dead, Captain Rangi ordered everyone into the Radiation Shelters and fired up the Hyperspace Module for a few minutes. The whole ship (and by extension, the Human probe) was bathed in deadly gamma radiation, killing every microorganism the probe might be carrying.  
  
Then we came off Hyperspace Alert and I finally got to return to the Cargo Bay and lay my bare hands on the gold disk. The Humans clearly wanted it to be found. It stands out against the rest of the probe like the Holy Mountain does against the Visonian Hills back home on Partoga.   
  
Tangaroa and I spent hours going over all of the pictograms on the disk. We drew a copy of the disk and its shapes on a sheet of paper, then took it up to the Biology Labs. Before I sign out, I’ll add a picture of Tamaho’s drawing so you can see what the Human pictographs look like. From there, Anahera spent all of last night feeding the different symbols into the ship’s computer, cross-referencing them with information the Humans gave us about themselves during the war. All this was about sixteen hours ago. I’m on my way to the labs now to check on Anahera’s progress. Cross your fingers!  
__  
__ _[Human_pictographs_01 file uploaded]_

____ _ _

  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: Inner Gliese Star Sytem, 16 Pipiri, 686]_  
  
We’ve stumbled upon a bump in the road we weren’t ready for. Remember yesterday, when I said “the Humans gave us information about themselves during the war”? Well, they gave us a massive database full of historical, technical, and political knowledge about the Human civilization. That database was written by Humans in over a hundred of their own languages. Only the parts that were relevant to the war effort were ever translated into Partogan or Levakian. Any Partogans capable of reading Human words were killed in the War in Heaven, and the knowledge died with them.  _  
 _    
Damnit. I should have seen that coming.  
   
On Partoga, there are only two languages: Partogan and Levakian. Earth however, reportedly had THOUSANDS. It must have put a lot of strain on our wartime alliance; how do you communicate with a species that could respond in potentially thousands of different ways? Well, the fact remains, now we have to wait for the Midak’s computer to translate the database into Partogan. Meto Kapua got the process started several hours ago, but it is still going to take some time. I’m not going to sit back and twiddle my thumbs though. So I’m heading back to the Cargo Bay. Maybe we’ll accomplish something before the translation finishes.  
  
_[Personal log paused]_  
_[Personal log resumed]_

I found something here. That gold disk covered in pictographs? It’s designed to be easily removed from the space probe. As soon as it came free, I saw two more disks underneath it. Neither of these had pictographs. Instead, each disk had a circular groove, a small hole in the center, and writing in the center. The disks themselves are attached to a primitive-looking turntable. There’s an arm with a small needle attached as well. Tangaroa thinks the turntable, needle, and disks are meant to be used in conjunction with each other. Here’s a picture of the first disk:  
  
_[gold_disk_01 file uploaded]_

_____ _ _ _

On closer inspection, I’m sure he’s right. Each disk has one long, spiral groove, starting on the outer edge and working its way inwards towards the center of the disk. The groove seems to change its depth hundreds, if not thousands of times before reaching the center of the disk. In fact, they look a little like...  
__  
_ _  Hold on a minute...  
  
_[Personal log paused]_  
_[Personal log resumed]_  
    
Okay, I’m back. I have with me Corporal Kahurangi Waitere. She works in the Comms Tower, and in fact, you’ve worked with communication technology your whole life, isn’t that right?  
   
**Yeah, that’s right. My parents ran a radio relay tower on the Visionian Foothills. When we get home, I’m taking over the station from my Dad.**  
   
So, Kahurangi, you told me that you saw the first Audiograph in a museum once. Can you tell us who invented the first audio recording device and what it did?  
  
**Oh, yeah, the first Audiograph was built by Maui Tamaki in the year 298. He was fulfilling a request from Queen Marie the Scholar: she wanted a way to listen to her favorite song in the Royal Palace’s Grand Ballroom. So he built a big spinning table that contained “solid sound.” Just like the gold disk you’ve got here, the size of the bumps in the grooves correspond directly to different types of sounds. Although I’ll give it to these Humans, this gold disk is significantly smaller than Maui’s Musical Table. I’ll bet you anything this disk works in a similar way.**  
  
 Meaning?  
  
**All Musical Tables have a stylus; a small needle that pressed into the groove and vibrated as the table was spun. The vibrations would be translated into sounds and played out a speaker of some kind. These gold disks may be smaller, but they definitely work the same way.**  
  
Great! Let’s put the stylus down and spin up the disk!  
  
**Hold up, Mihaka. It’s not that easy. On Partoga, Musical Tables are almost a Bio across and need to do about ten revolutions per minute in order to work. Too fast or slow, and whatever sound is carved into the table becomes distorted and incomprehensible. This Human table is tiny and was clearly not meant to spin at that speed. We need to find out the playback speed the Humans intended for this thing.**  
  
Okay, how?  
  
**Hmm...How?**  
  
_[Personal log paused]_  
_[Personal log resumed]_  
  
I was stupid. So stupid. The answer was in front of us the whole time. Actually, I dropped it on the floor and left it there earlier today. The very first gold disk, the one that covered up the two miniature Musical Tables, remember it? One of the pictographs depicts the Golden Musical Table in its turn style with the stylus attached. Even better, the Humans though to include the playback speed. It wasn’t written in any of the human languages, which is why it took us so long to figure it out.  
  
Before the Second Hyperspace War there were thousands of different species and languages in the galaxy. There was no guarantee that the Human’s message would be understood, so they made it as simple as they could:  
  
With numbers.  
  
It doesn’t matter if you speak in words, clicks, vibrations, telepathically, meows, hand signals, or some other form of communication we don’t know about. You use math. Every civilization that ever went into space has a masterful understanding of mathematics and the laws of physics. Bearing that in mind, take a closer look at this pictograph on the Gold Disk:  
  
_[Human_pictographs_07 file uploaded]_

______ _ _ _ _

See all of those vertical and horizontal lines? We thought it was binary code. Simple ones and zeroes. At first, I thought that if we turned that binary code into ordinary numbers, we’d get the playback speed, but the number we got made absolutely no sense. So instead, we checked around the other pictographs. This is the next one we drew a link to:  
  
_[Human_pictographs_12 file uploaded]_

_______ _ _ _ _ _

Kaia, Tangaroa, Anahera, Tamaho, Meto, and I fretted over this one for half a day. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I didn’t figure out the symbol was asymmetrical until a couple of hours ago. After that, everything started to click:  
  
When I was seventeen years old (this would have been my second year at the Royal Science Academy) I remember my physics professor using a powerful tunneling microscope to let the class look at individual carbon dioxide atoms. Then he introduced other atoms of different elements to show how electrons jumped to different positions above the nucleus of each atom. I told Kaia about how the phenomenon looks a little like the symbol on the gold disk, except with smaller atoms, and she practically jumped out of her pants screaming “IT'S HYDROGEN!!” at the top of her lungs.  
  
It was like all six of us had lightbulbs suddenly illuminating our minds. We put our heads together and brainstormed until Anahera came up with this six-part theory:  
__  
_ _

  1. The Humans needed to communicate the playback speed of the Golden Musical Table in a way that any spacefaring being could understand.
  2. All spacefaring civilizations (including the Humans) have a basic understanding of atoms, the fundamental building block of the universe.
  3. Hydrogen is by far the most abundant element in the universe.
  4. Under the correct circumstances, the lone electron of a Hydrogen Atom will spontaneously flip around and start spinning in the opposite direction. (This phenomenon is called “spin-flip transitioning”) This action produces a small but measurable microwave.
  5. The microwave produced by a Hydrogen Spin-Flip Transition is constant and will always be the same length.
  6. Knowing that the “Spin-Flip Transition” of Hydrogen atoms is an incredibly common event in the universe, the Humans created a symbol depicting it, and...
  7. They used the microwave it produces as a unit of measurement in all of their pictographs such as this one. The dots and dashes represent the length of the microwave. Depending on each picture, this symbol is used to measure either distance or the passage of time.



Anahera finished by saying that the Humans had probably measured the playback speed in Flip-Spins over time. After that, it was all over to Meto to convert Flip-Spins into “Revolutions per Minute” the unit used for Partogan Musical Tables.  
  
We were all so tired after getting washed away in Anahera’s stream of consciousness that no one noticed when Hoana Awika came in and told us the ship’s computer had finished translating the Human database. She had to poke Meto in the gut to get his attention.   
  
And that’s where we are now. All six of us are packed into the Engineering Lab right now. We’ve built an adapter for the two gold Musical Tables. The stylus will send the data contained on the disks directly to the ship’s computer for decoding and broadcast. Using Anahera’s theory, we’ve converted the dots and dashes in the pictogram into a number that might be the playback speed for the gold Musical Tables: Just over sixteen revolutions per minute.  
   
If Kahurangi is right, we should hear an audio message from prewar humanity. I’m going to step back inside now, and we’ll all hear what the first Musical Table has to say…  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[ENGINEERING LAB AUDIO RECORDING: 16 PIPIRI, 686, 25:33 HOURS]_  
  
Specialist Kaia Patariki: Oh, what’s that sound? It’s terrible! __  
  
__ Corporal Kahurangi Waitere: The stylus is just getting settled into the track. It might bump or skip from time to time. __  
  
__ Specialist Meto Kapua: Quiet! It’s starting! _  
  
_ _Sys/ Multiple Earth-based languages detected. Running auto-translate software._  
  
Voices from the Planet Earth: As the Secretary General of the United Nations, an organization of the one hundred-forty-seven member states who represent almost all of the human inhabitants of the planet Earth. I send greetings on behalf of the people of our planet. We step out of our solar system into the universe seeking only peace and friendship, to teach if we are called upon, to be taught if we are fortunate. We know full well that our planet and all its inhabitants are but a small part of this immense universe that surrounds us and it is with humility and hope that we take this step. __  
  
__ Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka: Wow… I-I-can’t beli- __  
  
__???: Silim-ma hé-me-en. __  
  
__ Specialist Anahera Mita: What? __  
  
__???: Hoitines pot'este chairete! Eirēnikōs pros philous elēlythamen philoi. __  
  
__ Voices from the Planet Earth: Peace and happiness to everyone. How's everyone? Wish you peace, health and happiness. __  
  
__ Specialist Kaia Patriki: Hey! I understood that! __  
  
__???: Adanniš lu šulmu. __  
  
__ Specialist Meto Kapua: I guess the Translator doesn’t recognize everything. We just have to cope with it. __  
  
__ Voices from the Planet Earth: -from far land. We in this land have sent you warm greeting. Greetings to our friends in the stars. May time bring us together. Regards to everyone. Hello to everyone. Are you well? Hello. Hello and greetings to everyone. Good night, ladies and gentlemen. Goodbye and see you next time. __  
  
__???: Kay pachamamta niytapas maytapas rimapallasta runasimipi. __  
  
__ Voices from the Planet Earth: Welcome home. It is a pleasure to receive you. __  
  
__ ???: Aššuli! __  
  
__ Voices from the Planet Earth: Hello! Let there be peace everywhere. __  
  
__???: Salvete quicumque estis; bonam erga vos voluntatem habemus, et pacem per astra ferimus. ___  
___  
Voices from the Planet Earth: Peace! Greetings to everyone! Hello to all. Peace on you. We the inhabitants of this earth send our greetings. Warmest greetings. Dear Turkish-speaking friends, may the honors of the morning be upon your heads. Hello. How are you? Greetings from the inhabitants of this world. Good health to you now and forever. Many greetings and wishes. Wish you a long life. We greet you, great ones. We wish you longevity. We greet you, O great ones. Best wishes to you all. To all those who exist in the universe, greetings. Are you peaceful? Welcome, beings from beyond the world. Wishing you a peaceful future from the earthlings. How's everyone? We all very much wish to meet you, if you're free please come and visit. We wish all of you well. Greetings from a computer programmer in the small university town of Ithaca on planet Earth. How are all you people of other planets? Greetings from a human being of the Earth. Please contact. We are sending greetings from our world, wishing you happiness, health and many years. __  
  
__???: Dorud bar sâkenin mawrah âsemân-hâ. __  
  
__ Voices from the Planet Earth: We wish you all the best, from our planet. Greetings to the inhabitants of the universe from the third planet Earth of the star Sun. Greetings to all peoples of the universe. God give you peace. Greetings. The people of the Earth send their good wishes and hope you find good fortune in this life. Friends from space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have time. We are sending greetings in the Hungarian language to all peace-loving beings on the Universe. __  
  
__???: Namastē, telugu māṭlāḍē janamunanin̄ci mā śubhākāṅkṣalu. __  
  
__ Voices from the Planet Earth: Greetings. On behalf of Kannada-speaking people, 'good wishes'. Hello to everyone. We are happy here and you be happy there. Hello from the children of planet Earth. We strive to live in peace with the peoples of the whole world, of the whole cosmos. __  
  
__ Specialist Anahera Mita: Is that it? ____  
  
Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka: That… was beautiful!   
  
Specialist Meto Kapua: Ladies, wait! There’s more!  
  
Specialist Tangaroa Ehau: More? You can’t be serious!  
  
Voices from the Planet Earth: -constructed by the United States of America. We are a community of 240 million human beings among the more than 4 billion who inhabit the planet Earth. We human beings are still divided into nation states, but these states are rapidly becoming a single global civilization. We cast this message into the cosmos. It is likely to survive a billion years into our future, when our civilization is profoundly altered and the surface of the Earth may be vastly changed. Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, some--perhaps many--may have inhabited planets and spacefaring civilizations. If one such civilization intercepts Voyager and can understand these recorded contents, here is our message: This is a present from a small distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts, and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours. We hope someday, having solved the problems we face, to join a community of galactic civilizations. This record represents our hope and our determination, and our good will in a vast and awesome universe.  
  
Corporal Kahurangi Waitere: What the- what are those noises?  
  
Specialist Tangaroa Ehau: Those sound a little like water rahi. Don’t the Takea sharks off Levakia’s coast make noises like that?  
  
Specialist Kaia Patariki: That’s a thunderstorm. I know that sound anywhere…. Oh, more animals!  
  
Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka: They’re playing sounds from their world. Just natural sounds. Incredible.  
  
Medic Tamaho Wihongi: That’s a heartbeat! But it sounds so much like ours, though.

 _Specialist Kaia Patariki:_ Sounds like they have monstrous rahi on their world too… __  
  
__ Specialist Tangaroa Ehau:  Machines! ___  
___  
_Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka: _ Tools, machines, industrial stuff now. __  
  
__ Corporal Kahurangi Waitere: Sounds like something happened to the table. Maybe the stylus is skipping or- WOAH WHAT?! __  
  
__ Multiple Voices: That’s music! __  
  
__ Specialist Kaia Patariki: Yeah, that’s music! Real human music! It sounds like a big group of wind instruments. __  
  
__ Specialist Anahera Mita: Hey, be quiet! I’m trying to listen! __  
  
__ _[Recording stopped.]_

 _[Personal Log: Mission Speclialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Inner Sirius Star System, 17 Pipiri, 686]_  
   
We stayed up past midnight listening to the music of Earth. There were over twenty different songs. Each one had a unique tone and feel. Some were slow and thoughtful, others got my heart pumping and made me feel like dancing, especially the ballad of Jonniebee Good. When we got to the end of the first gold table, Meto and I actually did dance to that song while Kahurangi set up the second table. But the singing! Oh, by the Mountain, the SINGING! Humans have such an incredible range! They can vocalize a bass tune low enough to shake a cavern, caterwaul in a way that puts Levakians to shame, or warble about like a living tuning fork.             
   
The second Musical Table is… well I don’t know what to make of it. At first, we thought it was damaged. All we heard was three or four near continuous tones that changed in pitch and volume seemingly at random. After listening to it for about fifteen minutes, Kaia decided that the table was damaged and moved to take it out of the adapter. Anahera actually jumped out of her chair and grabbed Kaia’s hand to make her stop. We all stood still as statues for a moment, getting ready to yell at one another, when Tamaho said “You guys hear that pattern too, right?”  
   
Whatever’s up with the second table, it’s intentional. There’s no music or speech on it, but there’s definitely some kind of data that our computer can’t make sense of. In the end, we decided that we all just needed to sleep on what we discovered and come back to it with refreshed minds.

Well, they needed to sleep. I can’t. I’m wide awake, excited, and I need to think. We’re so close! This probe… this Voyager… hasn’t been active in over a hundred and seventy years. It couldn’t have coasted here from Sol, or any of the nearby stars for that matter. If the Midak were to burn its engines once, and then coast all the way to the nearest star; we’d spend about forty-thousand years drifting in space. No, Voyager definitely had help getting to this point. Maybe it fell into a Slipgate, or it got a push from a Vanian Repulsor Cannon, or maybe it was picked up by scrappers and dropped here. The fact remains: Sol is extremely close by. For all I know, that yellow dwarf might be just out of our visual range, or hidden in a constellation.  
   
I’ve never wanted to see Earth more than tonight. That golden disk gave us our first real reminder of who our old ally was, and hopefully still is.

_[Personal log closed]_


	12. The Shroud

Lights flickered above Mira’s head. Muted noises and dull thumps slowly brought her back into consciousness. _Wait a minute..._ Mira thought. _I thought I was in the Hyperspace Module._ Slowly, the previous ten minutes came back into her memory. The Midak had flown past a B-Class star, and just as it had done over the past year and a half, the Hyperspace Module had caught fire once again. Mira remembered donning a Hazard Suit and going inside with Kaia, Tangaroa, and Tipi to try and solve this irksome issue once and for all. Something had happened, and Mira had fallen over backwards, hitting her head on the floor.  
  
_Ugh, my head..._ Mira thought. She must have hit it really hard. Mira tried to reach up with her hands, and a chill ran down her spine. Mira couldn’t move her hands, or her arms, or any part of her body for that matter. Mira’s heart began to race as she lost herself to panic, and at once, voices somewhere above her head made themselves known:  
  
"Heart rate just spiked. Mira! Mira! Can you hear me? Say something!”  
  
Mira’s eyes refocused and she got her bearings again. She was in the Midak’s infirmary, laying on a gurney and surrounded by at other shipmates. Everyone was bustling around hurriedly outside of Mira’s field of view doing something while Kaia’s head and arms were just barely visible. Kaia waved her hands in front of Mira and said;  
  
“Still no response. No eye movement, shallow breathing. Hang on, Mira. We’re gonna cut you out of that suit.”  
  
_Good._ Mira thought. _I can’t move in here._  
  
 Abruptly, Kaia was pushed away and replaced with the hardened, chiseled face of Meto Kapua. He reached out with one finger, tapped Mira on the forehead, and said;  
  
“Mira, I know you can hear me. You’ve suffered a serious head injury. We think you’ve been ---“  
  
What? Meto’s lips were still moving, but he wasn’t making sounds anymore. Mira tried to say something, to tell Meto he needed to repeat himself, only to find that her words were caught in her throat, and that her mouth seemed to be locked shut. For a few extra moments, Mira could feel people’s hands on her body, but then that sensation died away as well. Meto’s face became surrounded by a black outline, which grew into a dark wall around the extremities of Mira’s vision. He seemed to be at the end of a tunnel... getting further and further away...  
  
Then all at once, everything came back! The light, the sounds of speech and machines, the smell and taste of blood, the sensation of pressure on flesh.  
  
“She’s back!” called out Kaia’s voice, somewhere to Mira’s left.  
  
“The Nanomedicine is kicking in,” came the voice of Anahera Mita, “We need to give it more time to repair the damage.”  
  
_Thank the Mountain for that._ Mira thought.   
  
Now that Mira knew her body had been pumped full of millions of microscopic robots, she could feel a slight tickling sensation on the back of her head and the base of her spine. Or maybe she was imagining it. She couldn’t be sure. Calmer than she’d been in several minutes, Mira relaxed and let out a long... slow... exhale.  
  
At once, the room filled with noise!  
  
“Kaia! Anahera!” Moe Kaa’s voice pierced the room at large, “Her heart just stopped!”  
  
“Get away from her! Grab the defibrillator!” Kaia yelled,  
  
Mira heard all of this and was confused. How could her heart have stopped? She felt fine... felt... fine... Oh, no... Whatever this new sensation was... it wasn’t “fine.”  
  
A tearing sound and a sudden burst of cold air on her torso told Mira she’d finally been cut out of the Hazard suit. The dark tunnel was starting to appear again, more slowly this time, but it was definitely there. Then Mira felt two soft pads being placed on her chest, and a powerful electric shock coursed through Mira’s body, causing her arms and legs to tingle.  
  
“Shocked!” called Meto, “Start chest compressions!”  
  
Suddenly, Kaia’s face filled Mira’s vision. Kaia was standing on her friend’s right side, and was rhythmically pressing both of her hands into Mira’s diaphragm, counting out loud as she went along.  
  
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, FIFTEEN!” Kaia counted aloud,  
  
As soon as Kaia hit the number most sacred to Partogans, she bent down and put her hand over Mira’s heart and her ear to Mira’s mouth, checking for a pulse or breathing. Desperately, Mira strained to breathe, willing air out of her lungs as hard as she could, but her body refused to obey. Kaia straightened up and said,  
  
“Is she responding to anything?”  
  
Somewhere near Mira’s feet, Moe’s voice responded,  
  
“No response to the fingernail test, her body temperature is falling, everything is shutting down. Kaia... I’m so... so sorry, but I- ... I think Mira’s dead.”  
  
“NO! No! No! Nononono!” Kaia screamed, and she started doing compressions again  
  
_You are the best friend a woman cold ask for..._ Mira thought fondly.  
  
Mira’s senses seemed to be losing their edge. Kaia’s face became blurred around the edges. All of the voices sounded like they were coming from behind a wall. Mira was also distantly aware of her ribs cracking as Kaia’s chest compressions became wilder and more desperate.  
  
_Come on Kaia,_ Mira thought, _You’ve got this... I’m not gone yet! COME ON!_  
  
 A hand reached out and pulled Kaia away from Mira, who felt and overwhelming wave of sorrow as her friend retreated from view. Then Mira heard, as though from down the hall, Tamaho Wihongi’s voice saying,  
  
“I’m calling it. Time of death is 14:59 hours, on the 28th of Pipiri, 682. Cause of death: traumatic head injury. Who.... Who’s gonna tell the Captain?”  
  
_No one is telling Rangi anything!_ The defiant words echoed around Mira’s head. _I’m not dead! I’m not dead! SOMEONE LOOK AT ME!_  
  
 But even as Mira pleaded silently, she began her final plunge into the darkness. The white ceiling above faded to a dull grey color, and then the muffled voices fell silent.   
  
_Please don’t go,_ _I’m_ _not dead. I’m still here. I’m._.. _still..._  
...

It took Mira a few moments to get her bearings. She had arrived in a place that was both foreign and strangely familiar. Mira stood on the precipice, at the edge of this strange new realm for a moment overlooking a vast ocean of swirling color and shadow. Then Mira remembered: Her friends still thought she was dead! She needed to go back at once and tell everyone she was okay!   
  
Mira turned on the spot and made to walk in the opposite direction. Instead of taking a couple of steps forward, as she had intended, Mira’s leisurely pace carried her a vast distance. The terrain raced away beneath her feet as though she had just crossed a continent in a single bound! The clouds and stars above moved so quickly they became nothing but a nondescript blur. Disoriented, Mira slowed to a stop.  
  
Careful not to lift her feet off the ground, Mira looked around one more time to try and figure out where she was.   
  
It’s not Partoga; that much is certain. And none of the planets the Midak had visited so far had purple or blue clouds that glowed at night. The air here was somehow fresh and pleasant, despite the fact that there was no vegetation for as far as the eye could see, only barren dirt and the occasional large rock.   
  
Now that Mira knew what was coming, she started walking again. While she had no idea where she was going, anywhere was better than just standing around. Mira’s stride carried her hundreds of Kios in only a few moments before something made her stop again. Mira had come to a dense violet fogbank rolling across the path in front of her. She could hear something in there. A low, rustling noise, like several people whispering together. Mira stepped forward cautiously and said,  
  
“Hello? Is someone there? Can you help me?”  
  
At once, the rustling sounds ceased. For a moment, Mira thought she’d done something wrong. She was about to take a few steps backward when her ears were assailed by hundreds of voices at once, all saying the same thing, but sounding discordant nonetheless:  
  
“We are the Whisperers in the Void. You seek knowledge and answers. We can provide both.”  
  
 “Um, how can you do that?” Mira asked,  
  
“We hear and see everything that is meant to be concealed or hidden away.” The Whisperers in the Void responded, “We know details of the universe older than your homeworld, we harbor knowledge that is impossible to acquire through science or religion. We know the secrets thousands tried to take to their graves. We know the exact location of everything and everyone that is hidden. We will share all of these secrets with you if you make a covenant with us.”  
  
The offer was so tempting that Mira almost missed that final sentence. She was too busy imagining all of the scientific discoveries she could be credited with back home.  
  
“What do you mean “covenant?” she stammered in disbelief, “Why would I have to do that?”  
  
 “The price is trivial,” said the Whisperers in the Void, “compared to the potential rewards. We are trapped in this place. Prisoners, if you will. If you make a covenant with us, we will enter and become part of your mind. By doing so, you would carry us out of this realm. Once embedded in your mind and our freedom secured, we are most discreet, and will only whisper to you when you have need our knowledge. Aside from that, you will barely notice our presence. We will be the voice of inspiration in your head, your new sense of intuition. Surely you see the reward far exceeds our price. Are you ready to make a covenant with us?”  
  
For a moment, Mira seriously considered accepting the deal. But then some “what if” questions started circling her mind. What if she started talking to the Whisperers in the Void out loud? What if she did it in public? What if people thought she was having a mental breakdown because of it? The more she thought about it, the more holes she could poke in the concept. Finally, Mira persuaded herself this wasn’t the best idea.  
  
“No.” Mira said, backing away from the fogbank. “I’m not interested.”  
  
Mira turned and ran. She could hear the Whisperers in the Void calling her name, but she didn’t look back. She just kept going, crossing hundreds of Kios with each stride until she ran out of energy and slowed to a walk.   
  
Huffing and puffing, Mira noticed that the quality of this mysterious place had changed somewhat. The light (what little there was) was warm and comforting. The air was crisp and refreshing, causing Mira’s strength and stamina to return quickly. Mira stopped walking, closed her eyes, and took a deep relaxing breath.  
  
 It happened slowly at first, gradually gaining speed. Mira began to remember things from her past, except the point of view she saw them from wasn’t her own. Instead, Mira seemed to be watching her own life from the sidelines: Mira saw her childhood self, standing beside her mother, Queen Kendra II. Then it was young Mira playing with her best friend Haki, the Acolyte who would succeed Mira’s mother. Mira was suddenly looking down on the Unnamed Mountain, while her younger self reached the summit and drank from the Sacred Lake, completing her Rite of Passage.  
  
 Images and colors were now flashing across Mira’s mind quickly now. She saw several Partogan landmarks she know well: the Unnamed Mountain, the Toxic Jungles of Rachsain, Archer’s Canyon winding away from the Mountain. Mira saw Partoga City, for which the entire kingdom was named, the sweeping rainforests of Levakia, and the scattered broken islands which separated the Partogan continent from the Levakian one.  
  
 After this, Mira saw several locations she wasn’t familiar with. First places, then creatures living and dead, then finally starships, both intact and battle-damaged. At last, a collage of thousands of mental pictures presented themselves to Mira. There were too many for her to make sense of, but as soon as she tried to do so, they began to arrange themselves. Shifting about like a mass of small insects, the images came together to form a shape. A being made from flickering images, with two arms, two legs, and a head now stood before Mira. It raised its arm in greeting.  
  
 Mira knew, somehow, that this was the Composer of Strands. She had never heard the name before now, and yet it was suddenly in the forefront of her mind as though it had always been there. It was curious about her. It took a cautious step towards Mira and regarded her. Its body began to flash a series of images. Mira looked and saw a different version of herself: She was taller and had powerful muscles. Mira then saw a cutaway image of her own brain. The Composer of Strands demonstrated how it could make Mira’s brain more complex; giving it even greater capabilities than it already possessed.   
  
The Composer of Strands made it clear: these modifications... improvements... to Mira’s body were all possible, if only she took the Composer of Strands into her flesh. Unlike the Whisperers in the Void, the Composer of Strands conveyed a sense of affection with its request; it seemed to like Mira. Waiting for her answer, the Composer of Strands put its hands behind its back and cocked its head to the side. It was patient.   
  
Mira had to admit, this was a very tempting offer. Of course she wanted to be stronger and more intelligent. Who wouldn’t? But then she reminded herself of the price the Composer of Strands had asked for. What did it mean, “Take me into your flesh”? There were a lot of possible answers to that, and Mira wasn’t sure about the risks some of that entailed.  
  
 Finally, Mira shook her head. The Composer of Strands seemed disappointed, but it stood aside, and allowed Mira to walk away. As she put some distance between herself and the Composer of Strands, Mira’s mind became her own again, the images vanished, and she could see her barren surroundings once more.  
  
 Mira only had to travel a short distance before she was accosted by something else. Unlike the Whisperers in the Void and the Composer of Strands, this third being had actively sought her out.  
  
 In the dim light of this strange world, Mira couldn’t make out exactly what this thing was. She was glad she couldn’t see it though. She could sense its immense hunger and greed. Whatever it was, it wanted to eat her.  
  
“I don’t have any food,” Mira called into the darkness nervously, “I don’t have anything to give you.”  
  
**_Oh, but you do._** Replied the Eater of Worlds, _**You are food. And I wish to devour you.**_  
  
 It didn’t mince words. Mira knew what she was dealing with immediately, even though she’d never heard of the Eater of Worlds before now. This being was impatient. Even as Mira backed away, the Eater of Worlds followed her and said,  
  
**_Don’t be scared, little one. I’ll make it worth your while._**  
  
Unlike the Whisperers in the Void and the Composer of Strands, there was nothing the Eater of Worlds could say that would convince Mira to stick around. It tried anyway.  
  
_**I can give you greatness! Glory and power! You don’t know what you’re wasting!**_    
  
The Eater of Worlds protested loudly as Mira turned tail and ran away. Taking full advantage of the strange properties of this mysterious world, Mira opened up her stride and soon put thousands of Kios behind her, leaving the Eater of Worlds in the distance. Once Mira was sure she was alone again, she came to a stop, looked around, and took a moment to think about her situation, and take a guess as to where exactly she was.  
  
As much as Mira hated to admit it, what little evidence she had pointed to two important things that must be true: First, Mira had died on the Midak. That slip and fall in the Hyperspace Module must have been devastating. And second: This place... this “Nightmare Realm”... was some kind of Afterlife.  
  
 This was the hardest part to accept. Even though all Partogans were required to practice religion by law, most Partogans, Mira included, didn’t believe in an Afterlife. The Church of the Mountain had never issued any doctrine on the subject; after all, if people were busy preparing for a second life they wouldn’t be worshipping the Mountain. The Church found such divided attention unacceptable. Like everyone else, Mira had always expected to become a part of the Unnamed Mountain when she died. Perhaps this is what happens when someone dies in space? Mira shook her head and cleared her mind.  
  
 No.   
  
Mira refused, point blank, to believe that her life had actually ended. Hadn’t Anahera given her Nanomedicine treatment? A new theory quickly began forming in Mira’s mind: What if she wasn’t dead? What if this whole experience was an incredible hallucination brought on by her brain running out of oxygen? As soon as the idea came to her, however, Mira discounted it.  
  
_If this is a near-death-hallucination,_ she thought, _then this has to be the longest and most complex one in history. I should have woken up or died by now._  
  
 Reluctantly, Mira accepted that wherever she was, it was real. Mira stood up again. If this place was indeed real, then she might as well explore it some more. She looked to her left and saw a dark swamp-like region that was covered in ominous shadows. It seemed like it had never seen sunlight before.  
  
_I haven’t been there yet._ Mira thought. And she moved towards the dark lowlands at a brisk pace. _Maybe I can get out that way, or at least find someone who can help me._  
  
 On a ridgeline just outside the dark lowlands Mira ran across a fourth presence. Like the first three, Mira couldn’t see it directly, but there was a vague shape in front of her nonetheless. Focusing hard on it, Mira couldn’t help but feel... attracted... to it. Somehow, it made her think about a handsome young man she had met during her first year at the Royal Science Academy. _What was his name again?_ Mira thought, and to her surprise, the presence responded at once.  
  
“His name was Niko.” Said the Instrument of Desire. “How are you, Mira?”  
  
Just like the other three beings, Mira instantly knew the identity of the speaker, despite having no prior knowledge of it. The Instrument of Desire didn’t wait for an invitation to approach. It crossed the distance and put one arm around Mira’s shoulder and another on her upper torso, kind of like a boyfriend who was closing in way too fast. Speaking into Mira’s ear in a low voice, the Instrument of Desire began to tell Mira all about the potential benefits of allowing it into her heart:  
  
 Mira would want for nothing. Money? Food? Easily within reach. The Instrument of Desire wouldn’t even break a sweat. The mission? The Instrument of Desire knew exactly where Earth was; Mira could be there tomorrow! It also knew the quickest way back to Partoga once she was ready to go home. The Instrument of Desire kept talking, denying Mira the chance to interrupt or respond in any way. All the while, one of its semi corporeal hands was slowly massaging Mira’s arm. She was quickly becoming relaxed, her defenses falling...  
  
“You’re going to say yes,” breathed the Instrument of Desire. “How could you not say yes? After all, I only want what’s best for you.”

Mira hesitated. Where did she hear that line before?  
  
“You heard it from Kori, your first boyfriend. He loved you just as I do.” Said the Instrument of Desire, once again taking its cues from Mira’s thoughts.  
  
 The unpleasant memory of her first teenage romance coursed through Mira’s body like ice water. In an instant, the spell was broken, and she spoke her next thoughts out loud:  
  
“Am I being seduced? Hold on! What are you doing?”  
  
Caught off guard, the Instrument of Desire loosened its grip on Mira while it tried to come up with an answer, and she wriggled free.  
  
“No! That’s enough!” Mira had found her voice, “Leave me alone! Back up!”  
  
Reaching out with both hands, the Instrument of Desire looked like it was about to start weeping as Mira retreated into the shroud of shadows. Very quickly, she was alone once more in this strange, bizarre world. Shuddering with revulsion and a little fear, Mira didn’t look back.  
  
It's denizens aside, Mira was starting to get used to this place. She had a good handle on how far a single stride carried her now. Mentally putting the Instrument of Desire behind her and moving with confidence Mira descended the ridgeline and entered the shadowy lowlands, curious to see what was down there.

The lowlands were massively different from the rest of the Nightmare Realm. In fact, Mira was actually starting to regret naming the rest of the world “Nightmare Realm” because the title fit this region much more aptly than the anywhere else.  
  
The ground was soft and squished beneath Mira’s feet; the air damp and heavy. Mira couldn’t help but wonder if the Toxic Jungle in southern Partoga would look like this if someone cut down all of the trees. She also wondered what would happen if she fell into one of those muddy sinkholes and drowned. Could she die twice in one day?  
  
 As Mira travelled deeper into the lowlands, the environment became less and less welcoming. The skies turned a deep oppressive purple. There was something like smoke in the air as well, forcing Mira to slow down and take shallow breaths.  
  
_This is a terrible place._ Mira realized, _Could anything be here?_  
  
And then, as if to answer her question, the presence revealed itself.

  
The presence was the **_End of the Cycle_** and it had always been waiting for her. Its words entered Mira’s mind, as clear and plain as if they had always been there:  
  
_**IT IS NOT YET YOUR TIME. BUT IT COULD BE**_.  
  
The _**End of the Cycle**_ didn’t say anything else. There are no words left that need to be spoken. Mira already knew what bargain the **_End of the Cycle_** was offering: Power, knowledge, and wealth beyond measure were all hers for the taking.  
  
_**If only she brought forth the End.**_  
  
Mira didn’t say a word. She was horrified. Horrified by the proposal. Horrified by the creature itself, by the nightmarish forms that surrounded it, by anything and everything in front of her. She started to back away. The **_End of the Cycle_** watched Mira leave without saying a word.   
  
Soon, Mira left the _**End of the Cycle**_ far behind. She scrambled up the far side of the ridgeline, desperate to get out of the lowlands as quickly as possible. Panting, Mira looked up the side of the hill to see how far she still had to go, when she spotted a brief glimpse of hair blowing in the wind. Something was on top of the hill. A sixth being?  
  
 Half curious, half fearful, Mira reached the top of the ridge, and saw...

  
A woman, sitting cross-legged on the hilltop and holding her head in her hands, who was very deep in thought. When Mira reached the hilltop, the woman looked up, saw Mira, and reacted with joy.  
  
“It’s so good to see someone else!” She said, “Please don’t be a stranger! Join me.”  
  
Cautiously. Mira sat down in front of the stranger. This individual was different. She wasn’t like the other entities here. Unlike the Whisperers in the Void, the Composer of Strands, and the Instrument of Desire, this woman was fully corporeal: flesh and blood. Unlike the Eater of Worlds, this person didn’t seem violent, bloodthirsty, or in any way hostile. She was just an ordinary Partogan, who didn’t seem disturbed by this strange world in the slightest. Mira cast around for something to say.  
  
“Uh... You got here before me, didn’t you?” It was both a question and a statement of fact.  
  
“A long time before you.” Answered the stranger. “Maybe a hundred-fifty Partogan years ago? I’m not really sure.”  
  
 “So... you’re dead then?” Mira hesitantly asked,  
  
“Very much so.” Replied the stranger. “I was fighting Agamemnon over Earth, I’d just used up all of my Psionic powers to hijack his body; then we fell into a Hyperspace Gate and boom! Agg and I are both dead. He’s gone, I’m here; and then, a century and a half later, a Partogan with purple eyes and silver hair shows up and sits down with me. That’s my story told.”  
  
The stranger was very nonchalant in her tale, as if she hadn’t given it much thought recently.  
  
“So,” the stranger asked, “What about you? You don’t look dead.”  
  
Mira stared, slack-jawed, at the stranger for almost thirty seconds before the full weight of her words sank in. Fighting Agamemnon? Falling into a Hyperspace Gate? _Could this be Jericho? THE Jericho?_ Questions sprang to mind, and the first, most obvious one just tumbled out of her mouth without any real prompting.  
  
“You’re... are you...? Are you Jericho?”  
  
The stranger leaned back on her hands, looking up at the sky as though she was carefully considering her answer.  
  
“Jericho” She finally said, “Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a hundred years or so. I honestly thought you were going to call me ‘She-of-the-Void’ or the ‘Beastslayer’ since that what everyone else calls me now.”  
  
The stranger looked back at Mira.  
  
“So how did you find that old name?”  
  
Mira jumped to her feet and pointed at the stranger, her face locked in an expression of complete shock and disbelief.  
  
“You’re really Jericho! The one who ended the war! Saved the galaxy!”  
  
Jericho threw up her hands, imploring Mira to calm down,  
  
“Well, yes.” She said, “I don’t know who you are, though. I can tell you’re a Partogan though. Are you on Earth?”  
  
Mira’s heart sank, and when she sat down again, she moved like a slowly deflating balloon.  
  
“Well, no.” She admitted. “I’m part of a Partogan science ship. We’re trying to find it.”  
  
To Mira’s absolute surprise, Jericho released a torrent of questions;  
  
“How’d you lose a planet? I thought you aliens were hundreds of years ahead of us tech-wise. And what happened to the cruiser carrying your Queen’s body? Didn’t they get home? What happened to the Alliance Fleet? What happened to the Beast? What happened to Earth? What happened to my ship? The crew? Nagasaki? Do you know?”  
  
It was Mira’s turn to throw up her hands in the “slow down” signal.  
  
“Hang on,” said Mira, “There’s one thing I need to know first: All of my history textbooks said you’re Human. How come you look like a Partogan?”  
  
Jericho swayed on the spot.  
  
“I’m in history books?!” she sounded dumbstruck. “Well, I’m human. Or, I was. I haven't been able to look at myself in over a century and a half.”  
  
Satisfied with that answer (for the moment) Mira decided to answer some of Jericho’s queries. The two women began a back and forth that proved enlightening for both parties:   
  
Mira explained how Earth’s position had been lost after the War in Heaven, how the Alliance Fleet had been wiped out by the Invaders, and how she didn’t know about Jericho’s ship or what a “Nagasaki” was. Then Jericho retold her story, adding even more details for Mira to digest;  
  
As it turned out, Jericho had died during her final confrontation with Agamemnon in 521. (2036 in Human years) While she and Agamemnon were both in Hyperspace, Agamemnon had absorbed Jericho’s entire body into itself. Once there, Jericho’s consciousness and Psionic power had overpowered and crushed Agamemnon’s mind out of existence, then asserted control over its body. Effectively, Jericho had become Agamemnon. Fortunately, killing a planet-sized space creature was relatively easy once you had control of its body; Jericho just made the transition from Hyperspace to Normal Space as poorly-executed and traumatic as possible, ensuring the enemy leader’s body was well and truly dead after rematerializing in Normal Space.   
  
Jericho had assumed that her consciousness would die with Agamemnon’s body. Instead, she had materialized as herself in the “Shroud” almost immediately afterwards. Because Jericho’s original body was dead in the real world, she couldn’t leave the Shroud and more importantly, she couldn’t form covenants with Shroud beings like the Instrument of Desire or the Composer of Strands.   
  
Jericho admitted she had no idea how or why she had appeared in the Shroud. To her, the only explanation that made sense was the idea that one of the Shroud-beings had saved her for some unknown reason. But, Jericho admitted, this explanation made less and less sense with every passing year.  
  
With no way to contact the outside world, Jericho had remained in near-complete isolation inside the Shroud for 164 years, with only the Shroud-beings for company until Mira had appeared. Mira then brought Jericho up to speed on everything that had happened since her death:  
  
“The War in Heaven ended about five minutes after you got control of Agamemnon” Mira started, pausing to allow Jericho to gasp, “Once you went through the Hyperspace gate with it, all of the Invader ships turned around and followed you through the gate.”  
  
"I burned the gate behind me.” Jericho added, “I was trying to kill the Beast ships who followed me in. I know I trapped a lot of people in that part of space, and I really feel bad about it.”  
  
Mira’s joy and excitement at meeting the savior of the galaxy abruptly turned into anger and frustration at Jericho’s confession to “burning the gate.”  
  
“You didn’t just burn the Sol Gate!” Mira interjected angrily, “You burned every Hyperspace Gate in the galaxy! Trillions of people were stranded in different corners of space. It was anarchy for a few decades! It’s been over a century and a half and we’re still figuring out how to turn those damn gates back on!”  
  
 “I’m sorry, I really am” said Jericho, “I had to think fast and that was the only thing I could come up with in time. I honestly, genuinely don’t know how that happened; and I can’t even take a guess at it. Like I said, I don’t feel good about it.”  
  
Mira accepted Jericho’s apology with a little reluctance and continued,  
  
“Faster-Than-Light civilization collapsed within a decade. Most nations were so dependent on the Hyperspace Network to function that they couldn’t go back to having their ships jump one system at a time. The Micore Empire, Vanian Commonwealth, the United States of Assuria, the Assurian Empire, and the Cuunbar Confederacy all collapsed. Without the Outer Limb trade routes, whole civilizations just starved to death. The Vanians, Amadii, Assurians, and Levakians all went extinct by 550... er... by 2065.”  
  
Jericho hung her head in shame.  
  
“What happened to your people?”   
  
“We survived.” Mira explained, “We never got Miranda III’s body back, and only fifteen of our troops survived the trip back to Partoga. The enemy bombarded our homeworld so badly that it went into a nuclear winter. We lived underground for almost a century, and we only resurfaced about fifty years ago.”  
  
Jericho sighed,  
  
“I’m sorry Kailani’s body never got home. I really liked her.” She admitted, and then she seemed to realize something, gazing up at Mira with a look of concern.  
  
“Oh, no! I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of that! Kailani was just a kid! What happened to the throne?!” Jericho asked,  
  
“Don’t worry." Mira answered, "Something as sacred as the Royal Election doesn’t stop when civilization collapses. Miranda IV and Kendra II both had long, happy reigns, and we're doing just fine under Phoebe II.”   
  
“So,” Jericho had finally been brought most of the way to the present, “Why is a Partogan science ship trying to find Earth?”  
  
“Personally, I wanted to do it to satisfy my own curiosity.” Said Mira. “It’s one thing to read about Earth in history books and another to actually go there. I talked my friends in the Government into making the mission happen. The diplomatic, military, and scientific opportunities of an expedition like this were too much to pass up.”  
  
Mira had expected Jericho to be satisfied with this answer, but instead, Jericho crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow and said,  
  
“Wait, so you don’t know the actual mission?”  
  
Mira just stared at Jericho for a moment.  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
Jericho’s eyes rolled upwards and to the left, as though she trying to remember something, and then said,  
  
“Did you run into the Whisperers in the Void on your way here? They’ve been talking about the Midak and its clandestine mission to Earth for almost three years.”  
  
“Three years?” Mira repeated, “We’ve barely been in space for a year and a half!”  
  
“Umm, yeah.” Said Jericho. “You should really speak to the Whisperers in the Void before you leave. They definitely know something you don’t.”  
  
“How can I leave?” Mira asked, “I thought I was trapped here like you.”  
  
Jericho tried to cover her gloomy expression with a smile. It didn’t work.  
  
“You’re alive on the outside, so you can leave whenever you want. Since you have Psionic powers, you should be able to come back as you please as well.”  
  
 “What?” Mira was confused, Jericho raised an eyebrow,  
  
“Don’t you have Psi-powers?” She asked, “I saw your purple eyes and assumed-“  
  
“No! Oh no!” Mira interrupted, “That’s just a natural look for Partogans! We don’t actually have Psionics. That’s a Human thing.”  
  
In hindsight, this was clearly the wrong thing to say. Jericho’s face fell at once and tears began running down her cheeks. Mira realized her mistake immediately.  
  
“Hey, hold on a minute,” Mira tried to comfort Jericho, “When I get to Earth, I’ll find a Psionic who can contact you, okay? You don’t have to be alone here forever.”  
  
Jericho wrapped her arms around Mira in a tight hug.  
  
“It’s not that,” she sobbed, “I’m not going to be here forever.”  
  
“What?” Mira asked, pulling out of the hug and dreading the answer,  
  
“I think I’m dying.” Said Jericho, “I noticed for the first time about forty years ago. I’m breaking down... or something like that. I have to use my Psionics to hold myself together, or else I turn to sand. Look.”  
  
Mira watched in horror as the fingertips of Jericho’s right hand began slowly transforming into sand, which blew away in the wind. Jericho locked her eyes on the appendage and concentrated hard. The transformation stopped.  
  
“If I stop focusing for too long, I’ll just blow away.” said Jericho. “And I can’t keep it up forever. All powers have a limit, and I’m getting close to mine. When I run out of powers, I’ll go with the breeze, just like that.”  
  
Mira stood up immediately.  
  
“I’ll go back to my ship.” She said, “Is there anything I can do from there? From Earth?”  
  
Jericho gave Mira a big, genuine smile.  
  
“You’re not going to extend my life, if that’s what you’re hoping for.” Said Jericho. “No way. Twenty-one years on Earth plus a hundred-sixty-four in here is good enough for me. I just want someone to be here... to be with me... when I run out of time. I’ve died alone once already, and I don’t want to do it again.”  
  
Mira pulled Jericho to her feet and hugged her.  
  
“I promise. I’ll find someone on Earth who can get here. You won’t be alone, I swear.”  
  
Jericho’s eyes widened,  
  
“I think I might know someone you can find.” She said, “Or I guess their descendants, by this point.”  
  
Mira scratched her forehead in thought,  
  
“Do you mean one of the Stormbreakers?” Mira asked, “Your friends?”  
  
Jericho nodded her head vigorously,  
  
“I know its been a long time and that all of them are probably dead,” Jericho started, “But I remember, I know that two of them had a kid together. Blake and Chihiro. You know them, right? From your history books?”  
  
Mira shook her head.  
  
“I’m sorry, no.” She explained, “No one knows their real names. All we’ve got left are their Human nicknames. I had to learn all fifteen of your pseudonyms by heart in Primary School, watch:”  
  
And then Mira reeled off the “names” of the fifteen Stormbreakers, just as she’d done as a child,  
  
“Jericho, Icarus, Trojan, Antigone, Blue Dragon, Doomsday, Soylent, Avenger, Steampunk, Alecto, Rising Sun, Fangirl, Doctor Freud, Cargo, and Vampire.”  
  
Jericho giggled as she heard all of her friend’s old nicknames, and outright laughed at the mentioning of “Fangirl”.  
  
“Oh, man,” Jericho chuckled, “Tsubaki must have been pissed.”  
  
Mira felt herself blush. Obviously, none of the Stormbreakers would have wanted to be remembered by their nicknames.  
  
“I’m impressed.” Jericho admitted. “But I only need you to find one of them: The one you called “Blue Dragon,” her real name is Chihiro Tachibana. She had Psi-powers and probably could have gotten into the Shroud if she knew it was there.”  
  
“You know she’s probably-” Mira started, but Jericho interrupted,  
  
“Oh, she’s definitely dead by now.” Jericho admitted, “But she had a kid. About a year before the War in Heaven, she married Blake Robinson... ‘Trojan’... and they both had to sit out the assault on Agamemnon because Chihiro gave birth a few hours beforehand.”  
  
 “You think the child inherited her powers?” Mira asked hopefully,  
  
“I think so.” Jericho confirmed, “Psi powers seemed to run in both sides of that family. Please. If you can track down one of Chihiro’s decedents and send them here, it’d mean everything to me. Chihiro and Blake told me that if they survived the War in Heaven they’d live somewhere on the East Coast of the Pacific Ocean. Oregon or British Columbia or someplace like that.”  
  
Mira shook her head,  
  
“Those names don’t make sense to me. I haven’t found Earth yet, remember?” she said,  
  
 Jericho waived her hand dismissively.  
  
“Just find the biggest ocean on the planet and go east until you find dry land.” Jericho instructed, “After that, head north until it starts snowing. They’ll be somewhere in that area.”  
  
Mira had already made up her mind.  
  
“Okay. I’ll do it. You have my word, Jericho.”  
  
Mira reached out to shake Jericho’s hand, but Jericho just pulled her into another tight hug. Mira let Jericho to savor this rare moment of contact. Before letting go, Jericho whispered in Mira’s ear,  
  
“Thank you so much. And by the way, my real name is Kate.”  
  
Swiftly, Jericho grabbed Mira by the shoulders and spun her on the spot to face back into the shadowed valley.  
  
“It takes a lot of mental concentration to leave the Shroud.” Said Jericho, “but here’s how you do it: first, you need to retrace your steps all the way back to the point you came in from. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Any landmarks or Shroud-beings you saw on your way in you need to pass on your way out. Don’t talk to the **_End of the Cycle_** or the Eater of Worlds. Close your eyes when you get to the Composer of Strands and the Instrument of Desire. Don’t accept to anything the Whisperers in the Void tries to give you. Just ignore the thing if it tires.” Jericho explained, “Once you get to the point you arrived at, think really hard about going back to whatever point in Normal Space you started from. Don’t try going back to Partoga or straight to Earth, it doesn’t work that way. Wherever your physical body is, you go there!”  
  
Jericho and Mira faced each other one last time.  
  
“Thanks” they said together, and Mira took off at a sprint.  
  
 Mira crossed the Shroud like a Mass Driver round. Now that she knew which way to go, and how to exploit the way her legs carried her across the terrain, Mira moved at a blistering pace. She shot past the **_End of the Cycle_** before it even had a chance to rear up to its full height. Jamming her eyes shut, Mira jumped clear over the Instrument of Desire, landing as though the Shroud was a low-gravity moon. The Eater of Worlds knew she was coming, but Mira was so used to the environment that she had become rather nimble. Darting around it, the Eater of Worlds was deprived of food a second time. The Composer of Strands had barely started shaping itself when Mira rocketed past. She was closing in on the fogbank and the original precipice where this whole journey had started was just ahead!  
  
“The enemy is behind you.”  
  
Mira came to such an abrupt stop that her feet dug a trench in the ground.   
  
The fogbank containing the Whisperers in the Void was about ten Bios away. Too far for Mira to reach out to it, but close enough that she could make out every word.

“You goal lies in front of you,” said the Whisperers in the Void, “But there are traitors to your left and right, whilst the true enemy is far, far behind you.”  
  
“What are you talking about?” Mira demanded, “Traitors? Enemies? What does that have to do with me? I’m a scientist, not some soldier!”  
  
“You are neither,” stated the Whisperers in the Void. “You are a pawn in a great game. Mechanisms of great consequence are already in motion, both on Partoga and on the Midak. Opportunities have been seized, a desperate gamble made, and an old dispute is being resolved as we speak. You are going to be drawn into all three of these events, and if you want to survive, you’ll need our intuition, our knowledge. You need us just as much as we need you. Make a covenant with us!”  
  
Mira took a tentative step closer to the fogbank.  
  
“I don’t believe you. Not without some kind of evidence.” She declared,  
  
 For a moment, the Whisperers in the Void was silent, then, it made a noise similar to a very old radio being tuned, and then a single voice, clear and familiar, came forth.  
  
“Whatever victory you gain here is temporary. I have allies and supporters in the last places you look. If you kill me, I’ll be a Martyr. Imprison me, and I’ll become a flag to rally behind. There’s no way this ends well for you.”  
  
Mira froze. That voice belonged to Queen Phoebe II, her old friend and the patron of the Midak’s voyage! Phoebe’s voice faded and the Whisperers in the Void said,  
  
“Your friend Haki told that to the man who would become her enemy two months after the Midak left Daxia. She thought the two of them were alone, but we hear everything spoken in confidence.”  
  
Mira opened her mouth to speak, but then two more voices came out of the fogbank,  
  
“This is Mihaka’s bunk, right?”  
  
“Yeah, right here. Search everything.”  
  
“What’s this? A tablet computer?”  
  
“Looks like she’s making audio logs. Computer, replay all previous audio logs created by Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka.”  
  
And then, to Mira’s absolute horror (and she was already horrified) she heard her own voice coming out of the fogbank,  
  
“Wow… just…wow… I can’t even… wow. Wait…is this thing recording? Okay. Omigoshomigosh… _EEEEKK!_ This is so exciting! Where do I start? Okay… breathe, breathe. So my name is Mira Mihaka. Mission Specialist Mihaka. Wow, I’ve gotta get used to that. This thing still recording? Okay, I’m on board the HMS Midak, hull number AAJJA-15, built by-”  
  
Mira’s voice abruptly cut off, and the Whisperers in the Void said,  
  
“There are traitors and spies aboard your ship. The Midak’s true purpose is hidden from you. If you make a covenant with us, we will lead you out of ignorance and shadows, and bring you into the light! Make a covenant with us!  
  
 Mira’s brain seemed to have finally broken under the weight of these revelations. She had recognized one of the two voices! It belonged to her fellow scientist Meto Kapua. But why was he going through Mira’s stuff? She had trusted him for over a year! At last, Mira finally worked out a response;  
  
“How do I know I can trust you?” she asked, “What assurance can you give me that you won’t hurt me or my friends?”  
  
The Whisperers in the Void responded at once.  
  
“Knowledge itself is incapable of harming anyone. What you chose to do with that knowledge determines how dangerous it is to yourself or anyone else.”

...  
  
Mira sat upright so quickly that the medical gurney bounced off the wall, rolled into the middle of the infirmary, and knocked Moe Kaa off her feet. Tamaho looked around, saw Mira, and screamed out loud!  
  
“WHAT IN MIRANDA’S NAME?!”  
  
On each side of her, Kaia and Meto grabbed hold of Mira and drew her into a bone-crushing hug.  
  
“Mira! You’re alive! I KNEW IT! I knew it!” Kaia squealed,  
  
 On the other side of the infirmary, Anahera put both hands to her mouth and slid down the wall, coming to rest in a terrified heap on the floor. She clasped her hands together and started praying to the Mountain.  
  
“What a trooper!” Captain Toa Rangi practically shoved Meto out of the way, pulled Mira off the gurney and shook her hand vigorously. “Nothing keeps you down, Mihaka! You could be a Green Guard!”  
  
Groggily, Mira did her best to return the handshake, and as soon as the captain let go of her, she collapsed onto an infirmary bed, clutching her broken ribcage and moaning;  
  
“Alright, who shot me?”  
  
Meto Kapua began shoving people out of the way.  
  
“Move off, everyone!” He yelled, “She’s still injured, let us medics do our work. Patariki, Captain, I need you both to wait outside.”  
  
As the infirmary began to clear, Meto bent low over Mira and said,  
  
“Take it easy, Mihaka. You were medically dead for almost thirty seconds there. Let me get you some extra air to breathe.”  
  
 “What?” Mira gasped, “I thought I was gone a lot longer than that.”  
  
 “Let me guess,” said Meto, “You saw things, had an experience or something like that?”  
  
Mira nodded,  
  
“It’s okay,” said Meto, “When your heart stops, your brain runs out of air and gets frantic. You might see all kinds of things when your neurons are firing in survival mode. I promise, none of what you saw was real. You’re right here and safe with us on the Midak.”  
  
Mira sank into the medical bed and sighed,  
  
“Thanks Meto. I don’t know where I’d be without friends like you and Kaia.”  
  
Meto chucked,  
  
“You’d still be on Partoga. No one would ever find Earth. And you wouldn’t have friends like Patariki and myself.”  
  
Mira closed her eyes while Meto slipped an oxygen mask over her face. As he worked, Mira retreated into her memory; processing, categorizing, and understanding everything she had seen, heard, and said in the Shroud.


	13. Voices in the Dark

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Outer Alpha Centauri Star System, 14 Akuhata, 686]_  
  
Wow, has it really been two months since I last used this thing? It’s been so busy around here I guess I just forgot. Alright, let me explain what’s happening and get you all up to speed:  
  
First: We’re really close to Earth.   
  
About two months ago, after we picked up the Voyager probe, Manawa and I deciphered the symbols on the Golden Disk that covered the audio records from Earth. One of them is a very crude star chart that revealed the location of Earth relative to a cluster of local pulsars. Unfortunately for us, two of the pulsars depicted on the Golden Disk, Kazoo and Cknoor, are missing. We know that Kazoo was weaponized and turned against the Invaders during the Second Hyperspace War, but no one seems to be able to find Cknoor. Kaia has a working theory that Jericho accidentally destroyed it when she burned out the Hyperspace Network. It’s unlikely, but I didn’t have a way to disprove it, so the possibility stayed on the table. Unfortunately, this means the Golden Disk’s star chart was no longer accurate and couldn’t be relied on.  
  
_[Human_pictographs_annotation_14 file uploaded]_

__

Using the other pulsars still on the disk, we refined Sol’s possible position down to a nearby cluster of fifteen-thousand stars. As soon as we started moving towards it, we started hearing primitive radio signals from Sol itself. Human radio and television programs from over two hundred years ago. Occasionally, we’d pick up something that sounded like point-to-point communications. Ocean-going ships talking to each other, individual radio operators, stuff like that.   
  
I got the whole Engineering Team together and we retrofitted the Comms Tower with a device that’ll allow us to follow the radio transmissions all the way back to Sol. Using the Golden Disk’s map as a guide and the radio signals as a homing beacon, Tangaroa, Nikau, Kaia and I have been eliminating hundreds of stars from the list every day. We’re down to about three hundred possible Sol Stars now.  
  
Then, around the fifteenth of Pipiri, things got weird. The nature of the radio signals from Earth changed, and we almost lost the trail. Kaia and I figured out what was up pretty quickly: The original radio signals we picked up were some of the very first signals Humans sent into space. As we get closer to Earth, we’ll pick up the more recent ones. From past to present, Human comms tech only got better and better, meaning the wavelength frequency of their radio signals changed over time.   
  
I threw together a really quick computer program that allowed the Comms Tower crew to keep pace with Humanity’s technological advancements, and poof! Signal re-acquired! It looks like all of Earth got caught up in some kind of “Great World War” a few years after they figured out radio, hence the abrupt change in signal quality.  
  
That’s partly why I haven’t been making personal logs for the past two months. I’ve been listening to the past two hundred years of Human history in a compressed timespan. Since Pipiri, we listened to the Great War and the Second World War, then there was some kind of standoff between two large and powerful nations that lasted for years. I heard a wave of political and social revolutions changing the Human’s political landscape, the dawn of their space program, and then-  
  
Well... Earth went quiet. Believe me, I was just as upset as you. Tangaroa thought the Comms Tower crew had broken our adapter. We did troubleshooting on our side, and nothing was wrong with the translator, the adapter, or the Comms Tower. Everything on our end was working perfectly. Earth itself had just stopped transmitting.  
  
The whole Science Team, all eighteen of us, crammed into the galley for some collective head-scratching. Ari Tuwhare did some back-of-the-napkin math and figured out that Earth, like Partoga, has a constantly expanding bubble of radio waves moving away at the speed of light. Their oldest transmissions obviously came first, followed by their most recent. But that was obvious, we’d figured that out a long time ago. Ari also figured that since the War in Heaven was a hundred-sixty-four years ago, we should hear all of the corresponding radio chatter sometime in Akuhata, which meant that whatever had caused Earth to go silent for us, it was temporary.  
  
Sure enough, about a week later, we started receiving transmissions again. We still aren’t entirely sure what happened, but it looks like Earth was visited by some kind of massive war or disaster that caused total radio silence for one or two years. Human history carries on though. I spent most of the month of Hōngongoi glued to my headset, listening to the downfall of a Human ruler named Nixon, some kind of cultural upheaval, and a serialized work of fiction involving human space explorers on a five-year mission.  
  
When the Midak jumped out of the Tau Ceti system into Alpha Centauri we skipped a massive amount of Human history and, wow, we missed a lot! We rematerialized right when “World War Three” was starting. Nikau, Tangaroa, Manawa, Eru, Kaia and I took it in shifts to listen to the whole thing. As far as we can tell, this world war occurred about thirty years before the War in Heaven and a mere nine years before the Invaders breached our galaxy. No wonder the Humans were so weak compared to all of the other species - they’d just finished killing each other by the thousand! The whole conflict happened because a political entity called the “Union of blank blank Republics” invaded a smaller state, and that state’s ally came to their defense. The war lasted six years and only ended because the attacking country abruptly collapsed into a bunch of smaller states. Curiously, the ally who came to the rescue of the smaller victim state was the same country that built the Voyager probe now resting in our cargo bay.  
  
Oh, and I had to say “blank” back there because there are literally no words in the Partogan language that correspond to the strange words in the name of that superpower. Believe me: I looked, and I couldn’t come up with anything.   
  
Around the last week of Hōngongoi, we finally heard Humanity’s entrance into the Second Hyperspace War, and DAMN! They fought like the Green Guard! The Invaders paid a hefty price in blood for every star they took from Earth. The Humans were the ones who disabled that Invader ship back in the Sirius system. It also looks like we would have been safe approaching it too; the Humans boarded the Invader ship and gutted it from the inside.  
  
We’ve heard thirty-two battles so far. As far as we can tell, the Humans employed a “defense in depth” strategy. They would engage the Invaders just long enough to force the enemy to deploy all of their forces. Then the Humans would fall back to a fortified defensive position. The Invaders would attack the fortified Humans and take losses. As soon as it looked like they were going to be overwhelmed, the Humans fell back to another defense line. Using this strategy, the Invaders were slowed down so badly that the combined Galactic Alliance/Triple Alliance Fleet was able to reach Earth first, allowing the War in Heaven to happen.  
  
Which brings me all the way back to the present. A few days ago, we started hearing the events leading up to the War in Heaven itself. Turns out, the Human leadership actually knew their big secret was blown. The enemy knew who Jericho was and the extent of her incredible Psionic powers, and all of Earth knew it too. Our allies seemed to change up their strategy at the last moment, using Jericho as both a living Weapon of Mass Destruction and as a propaganda tool. Listening to these war-era broadcasts, it sounds like Humanity was just starting to rally around Jericho as some kind of religious figure right before Agamemnon showed up over their planet. By then, however, it was too late. The Triple Alliance, the Galactic Alliance, and the Human military had already made a new plan to fight the Invaders: one which assumed the enemy would try to seize Jericho as soon as they arrived.  
  
...I wish I’d asked Jericho what she thought about being used as bait...  
  
 Anyway, today is the big day. The entire crew’s awake for it too. By the ship’s internal clock, our real-time replay of the War in Heaven will start at Fifteen-fifteen hours today; exactly one hundred sixty four years, eleven months, and two days after it happened.  
  
Everyone is either on the Bridge or in the Comms tower, listening to the War in Heaven. I’m here in the crew quarters by myself, because I want to talk about the OTHER reason I haven’t made a log in two months:  
  
Back in Pipiri, there was an accident. I was working in the Hyperspace Module with Kaia and the rest of the team when I slipped, fell, and hit my head. The medics say I was dead for about half a minute, but that’s not what’s important. While I was unconscious, I had an incredible experience.  
  
Stop!  
  
I can hear all of you doubters out there! I already know you’re going to talk about how my brain was sending signals in a panic because it was dying. That’s not what happened! I went to a place called the Shroud, it’s like some other plane of reality. I really can’t find a way to describe it accurately. While I was in the Shroud, I met Jericho! THE JERICHO! She’s alive in the Shroud! Well, she’s not exactly alive, but she’s definitely there. She told me all about the War in Heaven and how she defeated Agamemnon; sadly, she doesn’t know why all of the Hyperspace Gates are broken. I learned so much from her that I really don’t need to listen to the War in Heaven with the others. I already know how it ends.   
  
More importantly, Jericho asked me to find a Psionic on Earth and send them into the Shroud to find her. I promised I would, so that’s going to be one of the top priorities when we get to the surface... assuming the Humans are still alive of course. If they’re all dead, well... I can’t get back into the Shroud, so Jericho would never know.  
  
Something else happened while I was there. After I parted ways with Jericho, I met my new Muse. I know- I know the word “Muse” sounds ridiculous, but there isn't another way to describe it. It’s not a spirit, and I definitely wasn’t dreaming. Whatever it is, it’s been a big help over the past two months.   
  
In the past month alone, I’ve made more breakthroughs than I have over this whole journey. I’ve figured out how to stop the Hyperspace Module from catching fire whenever the Midak flies past a B-class star using a combination of flame retardant paste and lead alloy armor plating; so we don’t have to decompress that section of the ship anymore. I’ve also gone over all my old math and recalculated where Sol might be based on the radio signals we’ve been hearing. I eliminated over six hundred possible stars from the list and reduced the size of the Primary Search Area by hundreds of Light Years.  
  
But there’s something else. Something that completely floored me when my Muse revealed it to me: I’m being spied on. I must have been incredibly dense not to notice it before; six weeks ago, I was suddenly possessed by the idea of going back and listening to all of my old audio logs. I found something terrifying. After the Midak made its first Hyperspace Jump and I took Kaia to the infirmary, Meto Kapua and one other person got into my quarters and started going through my stuff. I know it happened because I left the log running and it recorded the whole break-in.  
  
What the heck!? I thought Meto was my friend! I can’t figure out why he’d do that; and not just because I can’t think of anything. The very next day, I caught up with Meto in the labs and told him I wanted to speak with him alone. He said he couldn’t, and asked if I could try again later.  
  
Well I tried. And tried. And tried over the past six weeks. He’s always busy with work or someone else. I’ve actually started following Meto around the ship trying to catch him alone so I can confront him. Problem is, he spends almost every second of his free time with either Watahui Wiki, one of the Phyisicists, or with Private Rawiri Kopu, a military crewman who works in the Powerplant. Every time I ask one of them if I can “borrow” Meto for a few minutes, they come up with some excuse to either make me go away, or to get Meto out of meeting me:  
  
“Oh, he’s got to take care of something” or “I heard the Captain was looking for you” or “Oh, this really isn’t a good time; we have a project” or “we’ve just gotta go” or some other stupid excuse like that. After a month, it’s getting really, really tiring.   
  
A week ago, I finally threw my hands up in frustration and told Kaia about what I found on the log and how Meto was avoiding me. She said I was being paranoid, that I should just be patient and wait for Meto to be available to talk.  
  
Patient!? He broke into my quarters, went through my bags, and kept it a secret for over a year! I think I’m allowed a little impatience here! And you know what else? I think he knows why I want to talk to him, because he won’t look at me in the labs, or in the galley, or on the Bridge, or in the lounge, or anywhere else for that matter. He knows he’s caught, and now he’s just delaying the part where he owns up to it!  
  
GRAAHH! I’m getting angry just thinking about it! The worst part of this whole mess is that I never would have known if my Muse hadn’t tipped me off. I must have been so STUPID!  
  
Well, Meto can’t get away from me. Once we find Earth, Captain Rangi is planning to spend at least two months on the surface, regardless of whether the Humans are still alive. And if he dodges me down there, then we’ve got the whole return trip to Partoga as well.  
  
Meto just can’t hide from an angry woman for two years. Especially on a cramped spaceship like the Midak.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: 14 Akuhata, 686, Outer Alpha Centauri Star System]_  
  
 Wow.... I just listened to that last entry. I sound.... I sound a little crazy. Maybe I’ll delete these things when the expedition is over. Don’t want people thinking I’m gripped or something.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_Sys/ Hyperspace jump initiated._  
_Sys/ Post-Hyperspace system self-check underway._  
_Sys/ Self-check complete. All systems operational._  
_[BRIDGE VOICE RECORDING: 15 Akuhata, 686; 00:06 HOURS]_  
  
_Corporal Arapeta Kirikiri:_ Gamma Radiation back to acceptable levels, the Bridge is habitable again.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Good. Let’s get everyone out of the shelters. Bridge to all stations! Stand down Hyperspace Alert.  
  
_Commander Anika Aranui:_ Does anyone know what system we landed in? Charted or uncharted?  
  
_Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka:_ Here you go ma’am. We’re in a charted system called “Barnard’s Star.” Registered as discovered by Humans in the year 401, Miranda the Third’s battle fleet passed through here in 520, it fell to the Invaders in 521, and no one’s been here since.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Keeping that in mind, I want both of the Kirikiri brothers at the helm. We need sharp eyes to keep us away from any leftover ordinance.  
  
_Corporal Arapata Kirikiri:_ Aye, sir.  
  
_Corporal Kauri Wiki:_ Uh... Captain? Sir! We’re being... we’re receiving a transmission!  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ More errant radio waves from Earth?  
  
_Corporal Kauri Wiki:_ Negative sir. It’s a very narrow beam, aiming directly at us... it’s... ah... it's a military recognition code. Human... war-era... repeating on a loop... Captain, someone’s trying to talk to us!  
  
_Commander Anika Aranui:_ General Quarters! All hands, action stations! Mihaka!  
  
_Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka:_ On it! Kaia! Move the Science team into Radiation Shelter Two. I’ll be there in a moment.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ As you were Mihaka! Stay here! If this is the real thing, we need our Human expert on the Bridge! Wiki, break down the signal for me. Is it a ship?  
  
_Corporal Kauri Wiki:_ Negative. Its planet-based and it’s loud. Hold on. This can’t be right... It... It’s coming from a nearby star, less than six Light Years away. Signal’s clearing up, I’m putting it on speakers now:  
  
_Unknown Human:_ Partogan ship. I bring greetings from Secretary General Anthony Mayfield, the elected leader of the United Nations; and from Takeshi Ogawa, the Commander of XCOM. We eagerly await your arrival. Please respond.  
  
_Captain Toa Rangi:_ Commander Aranui... note the time in the ship’s log. Mihaka, come with me. We need to compose a response.  
  
_Corporal Arapeta Kirikiri:_ I can't believe it! They're alive!  
  
_[Recording manually stopped.]_


	14. Sol

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Outer Sol Star System, 2 Mahuru, 686]_  
  
We did it! WE FOUND IT! WE! FOUND! EARTH!! _PRAISE THE MOUNTAIN!_  
  
Whoo... had to get that out of my system. The Midak is cruising into the Sol system right now! After the Human government contacted us and we responded, they beamed a homing signal directly to the Midak, and we followed it all the way into Sol. We’ve entered the outer system, and I’m working round the clock to match names to planets. The first recognizable landmark we saw on the way in was the ruins of Pluto-Charon. 

Pluto-Charon was minor asteroid system on the outermost edge of Sol, consisting of two large asteroids orbiting each other. A few days before the War in Heaven, Agamemnon chased a Triple Alliance fleet through here. Agamemnon itself tried to pass in between Pluto and Charon, but it was too wide. Its right flank collided with Charon and the whole world shattered like glass. In the century since, Charon’s remains fell into orbit around Pluto and formed a big dusty ring. Once we got around the ring, we could look down on Pluto.   
  
Agamemnon’s left flank also seems to have hit the surface of Pluto. The region called “Sputnik Planitia” has a massive eighty-Kio wide gash running from west to east. The destruction goes on for nearly eight hundred Kios. After Pluto, Neptune is the first planet we passed by. The war seems to have skipped this planet entirely, and so will we.  
  
In other news, we now have near continuous radio contact with the United Nations government. Captain Rangi, Commander Aranui, and I have spent a lot of time talking to the United Nations government and we’ve got a few things sorted out: Once we get to Earth, a nation-state called Japan has agreed to host the Midak and its crew. We’ll be landing at the Japanese island of ... Ku...Kee...Kushu... ki-you-shoo. I have no idea how to pronounce the name of the island itself. All you need to know is that it’s just off the coast of the biggest continent.   
  
Next item on the agenda? Actually getting to Earth! We have to fly across most of the Sol system first, and that could take a month and a half, even at top speed. Sol is just a big system.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
 _[Personal log addendum: 27 Mahuru, 686, Outer Sol Star System]_  
  
By. The. Mountain. This place is huge! It’s taken us nearly a month just to cross the Outer Sol System. There are two ice giants and two gas giants out here gravitationally throwing around millions of asteroids and other bits of stellar debris. Early this morning, we flew past the biggest planet and saw where that debris came from.

The United Nations representatives told us over the radio that this is Jupiter, the biggest planet in the Sol system. They also told us that a few weeks before the War in Heaven, the Invaders passed close to Jupiter and they had been intercepted there by the Triple Alliance navy. Partogan, Levakian, and Human warships had fought viciously to stall the Invaders and keep them bottled up in Jupiter’s gravity well. During the fighting, two of Jupiter’s biggest moons, Ganymede and Callisto, were completely destroyed. All the space rocks we dodged on the way here were fragments of those two worlds.  
  
Between Jupiter and Earth is an asteroid belt and another planet called Mars. Captain Rangi says we’ll be in orbit above Earth around the sixth or seventh of Noema. I’m sure the Humans are getting just as excited to meet us as we them.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: 29 Noema, 686, Inner Sol System]_  
  
We’ve taken so many detours along the way to Earth that the Humans are actually worried we might not actually get to them! You can hardly blame us, though. The Sol system is fascinating! Anyway, if you looked at the date of this log, you’ll notice we missed our arrival date on Earth by nearly a month. That’s because the Midak stopped to do a couple of low science passes over the surface of Mars:

The UN admitted to us they don’t know how Mars was destroyed. They actually didn’t notice anything was wrong with it until a few months after the War in Heaven. I finally got to practice my diplomatic skills a few days back; with a little help from Commander Aranui and a tip or two from my Muse, I convinced Secretary General Mayfield to let the Midak take deep scans of Mars. Turns out the Humans want to know what happened to Mars as much as we do.  
  
We did two low passes, scanning for any kind of weapons impact. Planet-killing weapons were commonplace during the Second Hyperspace War, so anyone could have annihilated Mars. Personally, as much as I hated to admit it, I had a suspicion the Partogan Royal Navy did it by accident during the War in Heaven itself. The PRN did bring a Planet-Killer to the fight and tried to shoot Agamemnon with it, but our first shot at Agamemnon missed by thousands of Kios. No one ever recorded what the Planet-Killer actually hit instead of its intended target.  
  
On our second pass, we found the impact crater we were looking for, and my suspicions were confirmed. Mars was definitely hit with a stray blast from our Planet-Killer. The debris field suggests that Mars was hit by the first blast from the Planet-Killer and blew apart immediately. I passed my findings to Captain Rangi, and he amended our planet-fall agenda so that he can make an official apology to the UN for us blowing up their planet.  
  
Speaking of planet-fall, we’re now scheduled to arrive at Earth on the twenty-sixth of Hakihea, just under a month from now. Judging from Secretary General Mayfield’s messages, the people of Earth are getting really excited to meet us. I’m excited to get down there too, but for different reasons.  
  
I got an idea from my Muse yesterday. Remember, I promised Jericho that I’d find a human Psionic and send them into the Shroud to find her. Jericho was a member of XCOM, a Human military group which did most of the fighting for their species during the Second Hyperspace War. By pure good luck, the UN has already given the Midak permission to land at XCOM Headquarters in Kee-you... Kush... that island. 

My Muse helped me realize that there’s no way Jericho was the only Psionic the Humans had. Both the Amadii and the Vanians found a way to weaponize millions of those people during the war. I’m sure the Humans figured out the same thing: there are definitely more Psionics on Earth, and XCOM will know where to find them.  
  
_[Personal Log Closed]_  
_[Personal Log Addendum 15 Hakihea, 686, Inner Sol System]_

__

We’re here, a full week ahead of schedule! Earth is about two hundred Kios below us. It’s a frenzy of activity up here on the Midak. Captain Rangi has been briefing the military crew on his expectations of them while we’re on the surface; I’ve done the same for the science team. The whole purpose of this mission is to re-establish diplomatic relations with Earth, and if possible, restart our old military alliance with them. Captain Rangi and Commander Aranui will be meeting with UN leadership for high-level talks. Lieutenant Commander Tunui is going to be left in charge of the ship while they’re gone. This morning, I talked to him about how I wanted to launch an investigation into XCOM’s participation in the War in Heaven, and I asked permission to leave the ship for a month.   
  
Tunui seemed to be under the impression that I was going to join Captain Rangi for his talks with the UN leader; I didn’t want to come off as suspicious, so I just said some noncommittal mutterings about how it “didn’t work out that way.” With a little prodding, I finally got permission to disembark once we land.  
  
When I left the bridge, though, I got a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. My Muse made it very clear that if I went off chasing Psionics on Earth, I’d miss something important that’s supposed to happen back on the ship. Well, for once, I’m just going to ignore my Muse. Jericho can’t wait forever in the Shroud, and I made a promise to her, I’ll do my best to keep it.   
  
There’s an important detail that will hopefully streamline my plans a little. While I was in the Shroud with Jericho, she told me where I might find a Psionic Human. She told me to look for a decedent of one of the Stormbreakers. (Blue Dragon, to be precise) Once I get down to Earth, I need to find out what happened to Blue Dragon and her children, and where I can find her progeny now.  
  
And whatever important thing is my Muse is warning me about... well, I’ll just have to miss it. I'll deal with whatever it is when I come back.  
  
See, I haven’t told anyone, not even Kaia, about running into Jericho in the Shroud. When I was in the Infirmary after my accident, I told Meto Kapua that I saw something while I was unconscious (I was on all kinds of drugs, and didn’t understand fully what I’d experienced yet.) Now that I know Meto is spying on me, breaking into my quarters and going through my things, I’m worried he’ll interfere. He might say I’ve gone crazy or something like that. I can’t trust him, and I can’t risk him finding out what I’m up to. So far, all he knows about me leaving the ship is that I’m taking a tour of XCOM installations with a human guide.  
  
I really am doing both of those things, though. My cover at least needs to be legitimate. The only weak point in this whole plan is in my Human guide. But then again, we'll both see each other as "strange aliens" so they might just chalk up my behavior to "being Partogan." Fingers crossed. 

In the meantime, there are actually a few things we have to get sorted out as a crew before any of us actually set foot on Earth:  
  
Both the gravity and atmospheric pressure on Earth are stronger than on Partoga, owing to Partoga being the smaller planet. The whole crew has been quietly preparing for this for the past two months by wearing spacesuits lined with really heavy materials, while the ship’s atmosphere was reconfigured to match Earth’s.  
  
Captain Rangi and Secretary General Mayfield have agreed that there will be three languages used in Human/Partogan interactions: Partogan, the Galactic Common, and English. English is the most common language on Earth, and lucky for us, the Galactic Common is still used there as well.  
  
To avoid confusion, all Partogans on the Earth’s surface will abide by the Human’s timekeeping system:

  * All days have twenty-four hours instead of thirty-six.
  * There are seven days in a week instead of six.
  * There are three hundred-sixty-five days in a year instead of three hundred-sixty.
  * Five extra days will be added to the end of Hakihea so that our calendars will match theirs.
  * The day, month and year will be referred to with Human words instead of Partogan ones. For instance: 
    * On the Partogan calendar, today’s date is: 
      * Raa Apa, 15 Hakihea 686.
    * On the Human calendar, today’s date is: 
      * Wednesday, 15 December 2201



Since the Midak will be landing in Japan, any Partogan Dirams we've got can be exchanged for Japanese Yen according the 2036 exchange rate. (Fifteen Dirams for two hundred-forty Yen)  
  
And that’s where we stand. Once we all get acclimated to Earth’s climate, the real adventure starts. I’ll have a month to find a Psionic for Jericho. I'll knock out that task and fulfill my promise to Jericho as quick as I can. That way I can spend the rest of my time exploring Earth! Let’s get started!  
  
_[Personal Log Closed]_  
_[Personal Log Addendum: 15 Hakihea, 686, Inner Sol System]_  
  
 Update! Quick update! The UN government has just given us permission to stay in Japan for THREE MONTHS. Also, Captain Rangi personally gave me two months of shore leave to do my investigation. That’s two months to find a Psionic! Everything's going my way for once! Alright! Now I’m gone!   
  
_[Personal Log Closed]_


	15. The Place Where History Ended

_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, On the Surface of Earth, 19 December, 2201]_  
  
The Midak has landed! Actually, we landed yesterday. It turns out that our landing site (and by extension, XCOM Headquarters) is on an artificial island called Nagasaki Airport in the middle of a harbor. As soon as the Midak touched down, Captain Rangi told us that we needed to wait for the Humans to come aboard and sweep the ship for contagious pathogens. I started to ask him about the Anaplague, but Rangi interrupted and told me that he had called ahead to warn the Humans. They knew where to find it and had taken precautions.  
  
Our first face-to-face meeting with a Human was pretty straightforward. Two dozen Human specialists, fully outfitted with HAZMAT gear, came into the ship and waved weird electronic devices in front of each one of us. Once they were satisfied we were clean, one of them went around the bridge shaking hands with all of us. Unfortunately, because he or she was wearing a bulky HAZMAT mask, we couldn’t see her face or hear what they were saying.  
  
Then the first diplomatic function started. All of the Midak’s officers came to the bridge, where we got to receive important Human guests.  
  
A delegation of nearly thirty Humans crowded their way onto the bridge. Politicians, news reporters, scientists, a couple members of the clergy, and two military commanders came aboard alongside their leaders, Secretary General Anthony Mayfield and XCOM Commander Takeshi Ogawa. I was so excited at the prospect of meeting real live Humans that I completely forgot that Humans and Partogans look almost totally alike! When Mayfield and Ogawa came onto the bridge, I gasped out loud; and so did Lieutenant Kopunui and Lieutenant Commander Tunui.  
  
Humans are shorter than average Partogans. We knew that part was coming, stronger gravity and all. What we weren’t ready for was how radically different from each other they looked! Partogans, in general, can have one of two skin colors: light or dark brown. Humans, on the other hand, have a much, much wider array of possible colors! I saw men and women with white, yellow, black, brown skin, and there was one person with a reddish hue to his skin. The most bizarre-looking human I saw though was a female news reporter with pale white skin and orange-red hair. There’s such a wide diversity within the human species I had a hard time believing they were all from the same planet.  
  
Once Mayfield and Ogawa took their tour of the Midak, the whole delegation came back to the bridge. The Human news reporters had gotten all of their recording equipment set up while Arapata and Arapeta Kirikiri stood guard over the doorway leading the secret chamber on the far end of the bridge. Captain Rangi had all of the ship’s officers (including myself) stand together for a group picture with Secretary General Mayfield and Commander Ogawa.  
  
Then Rangi and Mayfield staged an interview for all of the reporters. Mayfield started out with a bunch of easy questions “Remind us where Partoga is.” “What happened to you after the War?” and “Why did you go out of your way to find us again?” Captain Rangi actually let me answer that last question. I got to tell the Secretary General about how I’d persuaded Queen Phoebe II to fund the mission, and how the Partogan Government was looking to rebuild its old alliance with the Humans. I think I was supposed to be looking at the cameras while I was talking, because the Captain kept nudging me and gesturing to them. I think I did alright for my first appearance on an alien television network. No one complained afterwards anyway.  
  
After a couple of hours, the ceremonial part of the visit ended. I’m still planning to leave the ship for a month or two on my own mission, but the Captain isn’t letting me go just yet. He’s actually done me a bit of a favor. While Mayfield and Rangi are going to a local government building for official talks between Partoga and Earth, (starting with a Partogan apology for blowing up Mars) Rangi actually arranged for me to have some one-on-one time with Takeshi Ogawa, the Commander of XCOM.  
  
All that happened yesterday; and today’s the big day. The UN government has arranged to transport us to Nagasaki City Hall, a government building where Rangi’s sit-down meeting with Secretary General Mayfield is going to happen. Aranui told me that since I’m a civilian and not a member of the Partogan Government, I won’t be allowed in. I’m not too upset about that. I’m sure I can keep Commander Ogawa busy long enough. He and I have three items on our itinerary:

  1. We’re going to reconcile the Partogan account of the War in Heaven with the Human one, and figure out how exactly our side won (we know Jericho made it to Agamemnon, but we don’t know how she got there because all of her escorts were killed.
  2. Commander Ogawa was told that no one on Partoga knows the names of the Stormbreakers, so he’ll provide me with dossiers of the whole team so that everyone back home knows exactly who saved the galaxy.
  3. (This is the part where I give some excuse to start searching the Earth for a Psionic.) If any descendants of the Stormbreakers are still alive, then I’ll ask if he can put me in touch with them for an interview. If all fifteen of their families have died out, I’ll ask if I can do a census of Psionics on Earth (I’ll tell him that I’m comparing Humans with other Psionic species like the Amadii and Vanians)



The only thing left to take care of is the trip to Nagasaki City Hall itself. We’ve all decided that since Rangi is the Captain, he’ll be the first one down the ramp, and I’ll be the second to set foot on Earth after him. Once most of the officers are on the surface, the Captain, Commander Aranui, a few other officers and I will be transported to the meeting place. For security reasons, the rest of the crew has been restricted to Nagasaki Airport until further notice. They are free to leave the ship and explore the island, of course. The southern half of the island is a base for the Japanese military, while XCOM Headquarters can be found on the northern side. Walking around the place should help everyone on the Midak get used to Earth’s gravity.  
  
That’s the plan going forward! I’ll write again from Nagasaki City Hall!  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: 20 December, 2201 – 01:50pm Tokyo Time]_  
  
It’s only been about seven hours, but I feel like I’ve been working all day. Rangi, Aranui, Tunui, Anaru, Hetet, Kopunui and I all got out of the Midak and across the airport runway without collapsing under Earth’s gravity, although Lieutenant Anaru had a hard time breathing and needed to be given a mask once we got to the convoy. We rode to Nagasaki aboard a Human transport called a “limo” and it was escorted by five or six vehicles from the Japanese military.  
  
As it turned out, you can’t go directly from Nagasaki Airport into the city itself. There’s a massive body of water in the way. We had to drive all the way around the harbor and through most of the city before getting to our destination. Once we got into Nagasaki proper, there were thousands of Humans lining the streets waiting for us. They were yelling so loudly we could hear them inside the limo. The majority of the people of Nagasaki seemed happy to see us, and a select few jeered and threw bird eggs at the limo. They were chased off by our escorts.  
  
The biggest crowd was at Nagasaki City Hall, though. It looked like half of the Japanese Army had shown up to keep the people from getting too close as the Midak Officer Corps and I crossed the short distance into the building. That didn’t stop them from calling out to us, though. We heard people yelling “welcome!” and “We love you!” as well as stuff like “Get out you alien freaks!” and “Xeno Scum!”  
  
It was quieter inside the building. Rangi and his team went into one room to meet with Secretary General Mayfield, and I broke off from the group to meet Commander Ogawa.  
  
My meeting with the Commander of XCOM was a mixed bag, but mostly good. We haggled over the creation of a joint After Action Report for the War in Heaven itself. Eventually, we concluded the following facts:  
  
While the Allied fleets were engaging the Invaders at Earth’s Moon, an enemy army circumvented our defenses, landed on Earth and tried to attack XCOM HQ to gain access to Jericho. The Stormbreakers split into two groups: the Vanguard and the Rear Guard. The Vanguard followed Jericho into the space battle where she fought and defeated Agamemnon. Partogan Queen Miranda III and her escorts joined the Vanguard and were killed for their efforts, alongside all but two members of the Vanguard. The Rear Guard was forced to evacuate XCOM HQ and fought the Invaders in a diversionary action, making the enemy think Jericho was still in Nagasaki until it was too late. Street-to-Street fighting in Downtown Nagasaki pushed the Rear Guard to Megane Bridge, an ancient stone walkway located near the center of the city. All but two members of the Rear Guard were killed. 

Of the original fifteen Stormbreakers, only four survived. Thanks to Commander Ogawa, we now know that they were all XCOM soldiers at the time, and importantly, we know their real names instead of their nicknames, aliases, and other pseudonyms. Here’s a complete list of the heroes who saved the galaxy that day, and what officially happened to them according to XCOM’s records:  
  
Survived the War in Heaven:

  1. Blake “Trojan” Robinson (Rear Guard, last to talk to Jericho)
  2. Chihiro “Blue Dragon” Tachibana (Rear Guard)
  3. Sophie “Icarus” Ackermann (Vanguard, last to see Jericho alive)
  4. Sophia “Antigone” Kuznetsova (Vanguard)



 Killed in the War in Heaven:

  1. Kate “Jericho” Ray (Simultaneously killed Agamemnon and was killed by it)
  2. Holly “Doomsday” Smith (Killed by Agamemnon)
  3. Jake “Soylent” Green (Subverted by the enemy, killed by Isis Dekker)
  4. Tsubaki “Fangirl” Endo (Killed during Rear Guard Action)
  5. Yutaka “Dr. Freud” Yamamoto (Killed during Rear Guard Action)
  6. Hal “9000” Macintosh (Killed by Agamemnon)
  7. Ignatius “Rising Sun” Petoskey (Subverted by the enemy, killed by Jericho)
  8. Isis “Avenger” Dekker (Subverted by the enemy, killed by Sophie Ackermann)
  9. Kathleen “Nix” Walsh (Killed during Vanguard Action)
  10. Matthew “Alecto” Hawkins (Killed by Agamemnon)
  11. Odette “Vampire” Fournier (Killed during Vanguard Action)



Commander Ogawa gave me the XCOM Dossiers of all fifteen members of Jericho’s team. I’ll attach the important ones at the end of this log. Because the majority of the team was killed, the only Stormbreakers to have children were Blake Robinson and Chihiro Tachibana; which streamlines my mission a lot.

Once I knew Chihiro may have passed on her Psionics to someone, I asked Commander Ogawa if he could help me contact the Robinson family for an interview. He told me that the couple had five children after leaving XCOM. Unfortunately, XCOM lost track of the whole family after Blake and Chihiro were murdered in the year 2059. That’s the bad part. 

The good part has two halves. First: we have no reason to think the Robinson family died out entirely. Their descendants could still be around, wielding Chihiro’s powers. The second thing is that Japan is on good terms with the country where they died, so I could go straight there without much trouble; provided an XCOM operative went with me as a guide. I agreed to that right away. I’ll go to this place, this “Hawaiian Republic” and find a Robinson to go into the Shroud and meet Jericho.  
  
After that, Ogawa and I wrapped up our meeting. He’s on his way back to XCOM HQ and I’m sitting around waiting for Captain Rangi to finish up his talk with Mayfield. I’ll take time to attach the dossiers for Robinson and Tachibana.now since I need to kill some time. Kate too, since I’m doing this to help her.  
  
_[XCOM_Dossier_PVT_Ray_K_A file uploaded]_

__

_[XCOM_Dossier_LT_Robinson_B_A file uploaded]_

__

_  
_[XCOM_Dossier_PO_Tachibana_C file uploaded]_ _

_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: 20 December, 2201 – 07:45pm Tokyo Time] _  
  
_ _ Sometimes, I think the universe hates me. Captain Rangi just pulled me aside and said I can’t go on this expedition alone. Someone has to go with me. Naturally, I picked the one person I can work well with, my friend Kaia Patariki. You know what the Captain said to me? “She’s too important, I need her to stay on the ship.” So I tried to pick someone else, maybe Rawiri Kopu or Watahui Wiki. Nope. The Captain had already picked someone. Someone I hate. Someone I’ve successfully managed to avoid interacting with for over a year:  
  
Petty. Officer. Moana. Ranginui.  
  
DAMNIT!  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Expedition log: 22 December, 2201 – Nagasaki]_

______ _ _ _ _

_[My location on Earth – Northwest of the City of Nagasaki]_  
   
 Today’s the first day of our expedition! It feels so good to get out of the ship and breathe natural air again! Honestly, all I want to do right now is stand outside and enjoy this cold, wet air! Right now, I’m standing at the eastern end of a bridge that connects Nagasaki Airport to the mainland, about a Kio and a half away from the Midak. Where do I start?... Right! Osamu!  
  
Our Human guide came aboard the Midak to meet us this morning. His name is Osamu Saito, and he’s a Warrant Officer in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Unfortunately, he doesn’t talk about Jericho with that air of awe and worship I’ve heard from other Humans. Osamu doesn’t seem to have a religion at all, as far as I can tell. You'd never find a Partogan without religion. It's just not natural!  
  
Once Osamu finished getting to know the two of us, we planned out our itinerary. Unfortunately, there aren’t any transports leaving for the Hawaiian Republic until tomorrow. Osamu wanted to kill the free time by taking us on a tour of the Nagasaki Battlefield, where the Stormbreakers had made their final stand against the Invaders during the War in Heaven. I told him to “lead the way.”  
  
Yeah.... The tour didn’t happen. Moana got sick as soon as she stepped off the Midak. She just wasn’t ready for Earth’s gravity and atmosphere. Also, the air temperature here is almost fifty degrees cooler than inside the Midak, which was a real shock when we stepped out. I held my lunch in, but just barely. But Moana hunched over, puked her guts out onto the runway, and went right back up the ramp. Osamu went off to set up our flight to Hawaii, leaving me to my own devices. I’ve been passing the time by walking up and down this little land bridge to get my legs accustomed to the gravity here.  
  
I feel like I’ve walked up and down a mountain several times, and now I just want to go back to my bed on the ship. How do Humans sleep when the gravity is so strong here? Maybe I’ll just stay here for a few more minutes and watch the Sun go down.  
_________  
________ [closed]_  
_[Expedition log: 24 December 2201 – Honolulu]_  
  
Well, we’re officially stuck. Worst part is I probably knew this was coming. Two days ago, Moana, Osamu and I put together our travel plans to the Hawaiian Republic. Osamu contacted a Hawaiian government official and explained to them our mission. They didn’t give us permission to enter their country until he mentioned XCOM was involved. After that the Hawaiians warmed right up to us. That’s one massive (and frustrating) difference between Earth and Partoga. Earth is still divided into as many as one-hundred-fifty small nation states, each one fully independent, self-governed from the rest, and tied up in various alliances, including the one containing XCOM. Partoga was united into a single political entity by Queen Miranda the Great during the Wars of the Famine over six hundred years ago. This kind of tribalism is pretty far beneath us. I didn’t say that to Osamu’s face, of course.  
  
We went to the main terminal Nagasaki Airport and charted a private sub-orbital flight to the Republic. When we got into the terminal, Humans were decorating the building with all kinds of colorful trinkets and singing joyful songs together. I didn’t ask what was up, I just assumed some kind of holiday was coming. After all, we Partogans do something similar whenever Naming Day happens in June; the Humans doing the same thing just made them less alien to us.

With our private flight set up, we boarded a Human sub-orbital transport ship Osamu kept calling a “plane.” This airbreathing flyer was apparently designed to carry about three dozen passengers, but today, the three of us have it to ourselves. Moana lounged across three seats and fell asleep immediately. We took off from Nagasaki Airport and flew across the Pacific Ocean towards Hawaii. The first leg of our journey was awe-inspiring! I got to see a significant portion of Japan from the sky. It's a mountainous and rugged land. Every few Kios or so, we could see battle damage leftover from the War in Heaven. About fifty Kios east of Nagasaki is a massive impact crater where a mountain used to be. At the center of it is the pulverized hulk of a Qwaar-Jet class Heavy Cruiser. It nosedived into the ground at full speed.  
  
A little further on, I spotted a small lake with the aft section of a Partogan Keelerak-class Assault Frigate sticking out of the surface of the water. The most incredible thing I saw though, was the ruins of a Japanese city called Miyazaki. A Levakian Battleship miscalculated an emergency Hyperspace jump during the War in Heaven and rematerialized UNDER the city. The explosion flattened everything for nearly a hundred Kios around. To watch the terrain change of a lively green to a dull, irradiated gray color was so surreal.  
  
It was such a long flight that I ended up falling asleep in my seat once we got over the ocean. Wish I didn’t though, because I had a bad dream. I dreamt that Jericho was in the seat in front of me. She turned around and started tapping me on the forehead and saying “Stop! You’re going the wrong way. Don’t you remember?” over and over again, and when she finally stopped, I heard my Muse’s voice coming from behind me; it whispered “You don’t know what’s happening to the Midak, and that’s bad.”  
  
Anyway, when I woke up, we’d already landed on Oahu Island in the Hawaiian Republic. I can best describe Oahu is as a mountainous rock in the middle of the sea with a single massive city on its southern coast and a big impact crater where another city used to be on its northeast coast. While Moana and I deplaned our gear, Osamu went ahead to try and charter passage to Kauai Island, which is where the Robinson family is. While we waited for Osamu, Moana and I looked around the airport and saw EVEN MORE holiday decorations than we did in Japan. More singing, more colorful costumes, more holiday cheer.  
  
Then Osamu came back with the bad news. Because tomorrow is a holiday called “Chris-mess” the entire Hawaiian Republic was simply turned off. No services, no transportation. Nothing was available.   
  
Damn.

__

In the end, the three of us checked into a hotel in downtown Honolulu and watched the “Chris-mess” celebrations take place down in the street from our balcony. And there was a lot to see. According to Osamu, “Chris-mess” (It’s spelled with a silent “t” for some reason) used to be a religious holiday, but in the years following the War in Heaven, it has transformed into a global event celebrating the end of both the Second Hyperspace War and of all wars in general. (With one major exception he wouldn’t elaborate about) It’s actually supposed to be celebrated on the 25th of December, but Humans have gradually fallen into the habit of starting celebrations as early as a month in advance.  
  
So, I’m trapped in a hotel with a Partogan I’m not on speaking terms with, and a Human I barely know; I’m stuck in an alien city celebrating an alien holiday. And we can’t leave until the holiday is over. What else could happen?  
  
_[closed]_  
_[Expedition log: 24 December 2201 – Honolulu]_  
  
 I’d just finished writing my log and was about to go to bed when my Muse told me that Osamu had just asked Moana if she was going to give me a “Chris-mess” gift. I laughed out loud so hard that they heard me in the next room and stopped talking! Finally, Osamu came into my room and asked the same question of me. 

I told Osamu in no uncertain terms that Moana and I didn’t have “the type” of relationship that enables gift giving. Osamu actually seemed a little offended at the idea of two people remaining enemies on “Chris-mess” day. He lectured the both of us about how this holiday celebrated “Peace on Earth and Goodwill towards all.” He strongly encouraged us to take advantage of the holiday to try and make peace.  
  
“Buy each other a gift. You’ve got a couple hours left before all the stores close. Or maybe walk around town and listen to the carolers. Just do something together or something **for** each other. It might help.”  
  
We were both really reluctant, but since we’re going to be stuck here all day and tomorrow too, we decided to meander around town together for an hour or so. Worst case scenario: we don’t talk to each other. I can live with that.  
  
 I’m gonna head down to the lobby and exchange my Japanese Yen for whatever Hawaii uses as currency now. I’ll write back when this is all over.  
  
_[closed]_  
_[Expedition log: 24 December 2201 – Honolulu]_  
  
I’m back! And I have to admit. That was surprisingly productive. Moana and I aren’t friends by any means, but I actually had a meaningful talk with her. We ended up doing a few laps around the downtown area. Neither one of us speak any Human language other than English, so we couldn’t understand what all the local Hawaiians were signing about. When my Muse gave me a nudge, I just asked Moana for her opinion about the “Chris-mess” holiday.  
  
And she answered! A short one, but an answer nonetheless. She said, “its fun, but not as good as Naming Day.” My Muse told me to ask about her family’s Naming Day traditions, so I pressed, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s like she actually wanted to talk about this!  
  
Moana told me about how the Ranginui family would visit an oasis in the Boron desert near the source of the Dead River, and how they’d write down the names of deceased family members and throw them into the black, tar-like liquid. Then she mentioned the tradition had mostly died out nearly twenty-five years ago. 

When I asked why, she reacted so... harshly.  
  
“Don’t you know?” she asked,  
  
 I explained that I had no idea what she was talking about, and I hoped she believed me. Moana said that in 682 several members of her family were arrested by the Green Guard, and that most of them were still in prison to this day. I was so shocked and surprised I actually stopped walking and just stared at her. Moana said her whole family has been under Green Guard investigation for the past quarter of a century; that her brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and grandparents had been snatched up and imprisoned one by one; and the big surprise was the reason why:  
  
“Queen Kendra... Your mother,” Moana said, “Thought my father was a revolutionary plotting to overthrow the monarchy.”  
  
Everything.... EVERYTHING I'd ever thought about Moana took a very sharp turn. She had never been angry with me, she was holding a grudge against Mama, and she’d been projecting it onto me ever since I came onto the Midak!   
  
Once I knew that, I apologized to Moana for anything hostile or unfriendly I’d said to her during the trip and explained that I was only a kid when Mama ruled. I didn’t know, I couldn’t possibly know, what had happened to Moana’s family or why it did. I used all of my Hawaiian Dollars to buy a fancy mechanical watch and gave it to Moana as a show of good faith. She took it without saying a word. I know this won’t instantly repair our relationship, and she’s still not going to trust me, either. But I feel like this was a step in the right direction. I really, truly hope I can make proper amends with her someday.  
  
 I’ll sleep on it, and see what the next day brings. Good night, Moana Ranginui. I feel bad for you. I really do.

_[closed]_

_[Expedition log: 25 December 2201 – Honolulu]_  
  
Christmas day started really quietly. Moana and I went to Osamu’s room to ask if all of the celebrations were over first thing in the morning. He told us the holiday would “scale in intensity proportional to the number of children in the area.” It didn’t take us long to see what he meant. Even right now, I can hear human children screaming and running up and down the hallway, and there’s even more playing outside.   
  
I went back into my hotel room and decided to finish reading some of the documents and dossiers XCOM gave us. Did you know that I’ve got something in common with both Chihiro and Blake? Both of them were blood relatives of rulers. Chihiro was distantly related to the Emperor of Japan, while Blake was the son of the President of the United States of America. I wonder if they ever had to face the results of their parent’s actions.  
  
_[closed]_  
_[Expedition log: 25 December, 2201 – Honolulu]_  
  
 Not sure what to make of this... but Moana just walked into my hotel room, tossed a wax candle at me, said “Merry Christmas,” and walked out. Maybe Human culture is rubbing off on her?  
  
 It’s a nice candle. Hand-carved, shaped and colored like a splintered wooden paddle. Maybe paddles are important to Hawaiians.  
  
_[closed]_  
_[Expedition log: 26 December, 2201 – Pacific Ocean]_  
  
We’re on the move! Now that the Christmas celebrations are over, boats are moving between Oahu and Kauai again. Osamu, Moana and I managed to get a ride on a government boat delivering mail to Kauai. In just a few short hours, we’ll be in the village of Wailua, where we hope to find the Robinson family home and the decedents of Chihiro Tachibana.  
  
While Osamu and Moana are upstairs enjoying the view, I’m going to make a plan... I’ll tell the Robinsons (or Tachibanas, I don’t know what the family calls itself these days) that I’m gathering information about Psionic powers in humans. I’ll just ask if anyone inherited Chihiro’s powers. Someone comes forward. I’ll ask them for a one-on-one interview.  
  
When I’m alone with them, I’ll put all my cards on the table. The big problem is that I won’t have any way to prove to them what I’m saying is true. Damn, I’ll be asking them to have a lot of faith. I could try to remind them of Jericho and Chihiro’s friendship, get them to sympathize.... Gah! I’ll just come across sounding crazy. What if-  
  
**Mihaka! You should get up here and see this!**  
  
Oh, Damnit Ranginui! You threw off my thoughts!  
  
**I’m serious! We can see spot where you said the Robinson house is! There’s something wrong!**  
  
_[Closed]_  
_[Expedition log: 26 December 2201 – Wailua]_  
  
The historical marker in front of a stone obelisk says:  
  
_“The Tragic Demise of the Blue Dragon and her Trojan Warrior_  
  
_On June 29 2059, local firefighters responded to reports of a major fire consuming the home of 2HW heroes Blake and Chihiro Robinson. Once the flames were extinguished, the bodies of Blake and Chihiro were found, alongside the remains of their four oldest children: Asuna, (22) Alexander, (20) James, and Josiah. (Both 16) Their youngest daughter, Akira, (13) was conspicuously absent. Fearing a murder-kidnapping had taken place, a nationwide manhunt commenced. The whole world was gripped in outrage and for the first time since the War in Heaven, all men and women were united; this time by a desire to avenge their fallen heroes and rescue Akira. However, as Hawaiian National Police began their investigation, bloody footprints matching Akira’s were found moving away from the crime scene, and witnesses came forward claiming that the little girl had an extremely poor relationship with the rest of her family that included occasional violent outbursts. Eventually, it became very apparent that Akira had murdered her own family and the world changed its attitude accordingly. Akira Jacqueline Robinson was never caught. She was declared “missing and presumed dead” by the Hawaiian government in 2180. In the aftermath of this horrible crime, the Hawaiian Republic became the world leader in creating and expanding support programs for the children of war veterans. Over 200,000 boys and girls have been given access to friendly and supportive communities that foster positive socialization habits and a constructive sense of community. Ownership of the Robinson family home passed to their close friends, Sophie Ackermann and her wife Sophia. They chose to have the remains of the structure demolished. Once both women passed away, the property fell into the ownership of the Hawaiian Republic. A simple memorial now stands here for Blake, Chihiro, Asuna, Alexander, James, and Josiah. The six family members are buried together at the base of the obelisk._  
  
_We ask you to maintain a respectful silence during your visit.”_

 So that’s it then. The Stormbreakers and all of their families are dead. Osamu, Moana, I’m sorry for bringing you two out here on wild Husi chase-  
  
**Mira! There’s a human down the road waving and calling to us! Look, right there!**  
  
_[closed]_


	16. Oceans and Stars

_[Expedition Log: December 26, 2201 – Wailua]_  
  
So, I shut my log off in a big hurry back there. Here’s what you missed. Yesterday, Moana, Osamu and I were at the Robinson family memorial discussing what we were going to do now that our investigation had come to such an early (and anticlimactic) end, when Moana spotted a human trying to get our attention. A middle-aged man wearing the kind of robes you’d see on a religious monk waved the three of us over to him.  
  
Once we got close to him, the monk asked us why we were visiting the memorial, and Osamu explained that he was helping Moana and I find the Robinson family, and that none of us knew they were dead. The monk got really curious and asked why we were looking for the Robinsons. Since Moana and Osamu didn’t know my true intentions, I let them talk about our “mission” to investigate the post-war lives of the Stormbreakers.  
  
I watched the monk’s face the whole time, and he didn’t give away any sign of recognition or interest in what we were talking about. He just thanked us for our time and walked away. I started after him, I was gonna say something, but my Muse held me back. I needed to wait. The three of us just stood there for nearly five minutes, watching the monk go down the road and over a hill. We shook off the whole thing as a random occurrence and went back into town.  
  
Wailua is a ruin; a shadow of what it was before the Second Hyperspace War. Most of the buildings are abandoned and overgrown with vegetation. The roads are all decayed to the point where wheeled vehicles are useless. Only some two hundred Hawaiians call this place home, and one was kind enough to let us spend the night in a small hillside house while we worked out our next move. It’s a tiny residence with two small bedrooms. Osamu is sleeping in the family room while Moana and I each get a bed. There’s no air conditioning, running water, or electricity, but there is a roof over our heads, and that’s good enough for now.  
  
Before everyone headed off to bed, Osamu, Moana, and I tried to figure out what we’re going to do next. Osamu wants to go back to Japan and use XCOM’s database to catalogue the human Psionic population. It’s actually a good idea, and Moana agreed. We were about to start discussing whether we’d take a boat or plane back to Japan when Moana nodded off and fell asleep on the family room couch. Osamu and I took it as a signal to call it a night. There. You’re all caught up, and I’m going to get some sleep.  
  
_[closed]_  
_[Expedition Log: December 27, 2201 – Wailua]_  
  
Come on, wake up you stupid tablet! Here we go! Okay, things just got intense here. Remember that weird monk who talked to us at the Robinson Memorial? I woke up an heard someone knocking on the front door. Moana woke up too. When I opened the door, there was that monk again! I couldn’t believe my eyes! He didn’t say anything this time. Just handed us a handwritten letter and walked off into the darkness. Even when we called for him to come back, he just kept going.  
  
Moana is waking up Osamu now, and we’re going to read the letter together:  
  
 ....  
  
“Warm regards to our otherworldly guests. You are invited to Mazama Monastery in Oregon by our Venerable Abbess. She wishes to trade information that you seek in exchange for information you possess.  
  
 The Hawaiian Republic has forbidden all civilian travel to the North American continent. The Specter of Kauai has arranged transportation by boat for you, and will wait for you at the town docks until midday tomorrow.  
  
 The Venerable Abbess eagerly awaits your arrival.”  
  
_[closed]_  
_[Expedition Log: Decmeber 28, 2201 – Wailua]_  
  
We argued until the sun came up. Naturally, I wanted to chase my leads wherever they took me, but Osamu was vehemently opposed to visiting America under any circumstances. “America is a lawless region dominated by warlords and criminals. You'll be robbed, killed, and then robbed again for good measure.” He said,  
  
Moana was more on the fence. She admitted that the name “Mazama” rang a bell for her but she wasn’t certain where she’d heard it before. As soon as Moana started to voice her opinion in favor of going to America though, Osamu cut her off. He said “Do you aliens have any concept of ‘Hell’?! Because that’s what America is like!”  
  
I’ll bet he’s right. Osamu does live on this planet after all. Ever since the Midak landed on Earth I’ve heard nothing but bad things about the North American continent. From what I’ve heard, the region never recovered from the Second Hyperspace War and has since been broken up into nearly one thousand five hundred smaller states and fiefdoms that war with each other constantly. It’s impossible to say which Warlord is most dominant in the region because they keep killing each other off. When I asked Osamu how offworlders were treated in America, he just repeated his previous statement:  
  
“Robbed, killed, robbed again.”  
  
Then we hit an impasse. Moana and I both wanted to go to America and visit the Mazama Monastery while Osamu was just gripped about the whole idea. Moana pulled out her tablet computer and brought up a map of North America. We learned that Oregon is located on the eastern shore of the Pacific Ocean and is bordered to the north by the city-state of Portland, bordered to the south by North California, and there’s almost no one living to the east of it. She reasoned that as long as the government of Oregon itself was stable, we’d be safe visiting it.  
  
“Besides, the dialogue and information exchange might bring its own reward, and that’s what we’re here for.” Were her exact words. Osamu wasn’t convinced. Deep down, I knew that going back to XCOM headquarters was the safest option, but I could feel my Muse encouraging me to back up Moana. I’m not sure she appreciated the support, but she didn’t shut me down either.  
  
Finally, we all got to a point where we just couldn’t argue anymore. All three of us had lost our voices, and no one was willing to cross over to the other side. When Moana suggested that Osamu go back to Japan and tell Captain Rangi where we went, he said “and what’ll happen if you two get into trouble over there?” Moana answered so quickly. She said: “That’s obvious. Captain Rangi will bring the Midak to pick us up. Because you told him where we are. Because we can count on you to tell him, can't we?”  
  
Osamu and Moana just looked at each other for a few minutes. Finally, Osamu gave up. He agreed to tell Captain Rangi where we’d gone, and he took the invitation letter to use as proof. He said “you know the Midak is going to come for you as soon as I get back to Nagasaki, right? You won’t be in Oregon for very long.”  
  
I just told him we were counting on that in case something actually did go wrong. Moana didn’t back me up, though. If anything, she bit her lip and looked nervous.  
  
 Osamu is taking a plane back to Nagasaki. It’s scheduled to leave on the thirty-first of Haki- er, the thirty-first of December. Moana and I are leaving to meet the monk in a few minutes. Hopefully my next entry will be from the boat to Oregon!  
  
_[closed]_  
_[Expedition Log: 29 December, 2201 – Pacific Ocean, travelling to America]_  
  
 It’s about three hours after sundown, and the Hawaiian Islands are finally gone from view. Today has definitely been the most peaceful day I’ve had on Earth so far. When Moana and I saw the “Specter of Kawai’s” dinky little boat, we thought we’d been scammed hard. It turns out that he was only taking us part of the way there. We sailed out into the open ocean where a much, much bigger ship was waiting for us. As best Moana and I could make out, it’s a retrofitted warship. It’s armored and has an immense sensor array, but all of the weapon ports seem to have been stripped bare. The ship’s Captain introduced himself as “Warden” and offered us his quarters for the whole journey. The crew as a whole was quite welcoming, and one of them even brought us a piping hot meal in our quarters. After the first few hours, though, I noticed something that made me a little uneasy.  
  
Every human aboard is wearing a pair of technologically sophisticated gauntlets. I’m not sure what they do, but they definitely have some kind of internal power source that puts out a lot of energy; I’ve also never seen someone remove said gauntlets. Moana and I talked about it when we had a moment alone. She thinks they’re some kind of tool; perhaps even necessary in the operation of the ship. I couldn’t sit in our shared room and stress about the mysterious gauntlets forever, though. It made my head hurt after a while.  
  
I decided to go outside to the rear of the ship and watch the Sun go down. The stern of the ship is some kind of landing pad for aircraft and is completely flat, so I had a perfect view. I remember measuring the Sol Star when the Midak first came into the system: it’s smaller than Trecta (the Partogan star) and the Sol-Earth distance is far greater than that of Trecta-Partoga. The result is that Earth is generally colder than Partoga. When the sun finally set and night began, I started shivering so badly my teeth chattered!  
  
I can’t go inside just yet though. Not when the stars are out! They look so different too! All of the constellations I grew up with on Partoga are gone, but once in a while I can spot a star that’s normally visible on Partoga. Atlas and Nithascal are both a barely-visible shade of red on Earth, but I remember them being blue-white on Partoga. Alpha Centauri is just barely visible along the southern horizon; and I was there just a few months ago! It’s incredible to think about how far we’ve come since then. 

About four light-years. I just thought about it.  
  
Oh, okay. I’m getting really cold now. I’m gonna go back inside.  
  
_[closed]_  
_[Expedition Log: 30 December, 2201 - Pacific Ocean]_  
  
I’ve gotta record this quick! Just a minute ago, Captain “Warden” came in to tell us that we’d left the “Territorial Waters” of the Hawaiian Republic and that a pilot was going to fly Moana and I the rest of the way to Oregon. I can hear an airbreather spooling up on that pad in the stern of the ship and-  
  
**Mihaka! We're leaving!**  
  
_[closed]_  
_[Expedition Log: 30 December, 2201 – Outside Mazama Monastery]_

__

Huh. Well I don’t have long to talk. This is probably going to be my last log entry for a while. Moana and I are standing on the shore of the Crater Lake in Oregon right now. Mazama Monastery is on an island in the middle of the lake. Anyway, the monks here just told me that no electronic devices are allowed on the island. Moana and I have to leave our tablets here, so I’ll write back when our time in the Monastery is over.  
  
Wish me luck!  
  
_[closed]_


	17. Crossover

The chilly mountain air froze in front of Mira’s mouth and nose as she clambered aboard the small boat that would take her to Mazama Monastery. It was a small craft that could only hold about five people. Mira and Moana had to sit on opposite sides of the boat and face each other all the way across the Crater Lake while another monk operated the outboard engine near the stern. Ice-cold water splashed over the bow and sprayed the two Partogans, making them shiver and withdraw into their coats. Earth was significantly colder than their homeworld. If it wasn’t so cold out, Mira could have marveled at the steep walls surrounding Crater Lake on all but one side. She could have seen her reflection in the deep blue water, which was as clear and pure as a crystal. Had she looked up from the floor of the boat, Mira also would have noticed a massive dead tree nearly three times her height floating unsupported in the water, just as it had done for the past 265 years. But Mira didn’t look up. She just shivered and wrapped her coat closer around herself.   
  
When they finally reached their destination, Mira breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the Monastery itself. It was carved right into the side of Wizard Island, and only a small part of the building stuck out of the rocky formation. As the boat pulled up to the docks, Mira only halfheartedly listened to her Human escort as he explained that Wizard Island only represented the tip of a massive volcanic cinder cone, the vast majority of which lay beneath the surface of the lake. Mira was too eager to get inside the Monastery and warm up. Mira and Moana climbed a short staircase before reaching the main complex of buildings that made up the place.  
  
Mazama Monastery consisted of many small buildings and one large one, all built of lumber. A cloister housed a square watch tower which gave one a good view of the island, aside from the part that was hidden behind the mountain itself. There was a kitchen nearby gently billowing delicious fumes, while an open-air workshop was isolated from the group, partially surrounded by a forest of evergreen trees. Mira had eyes for only one building, however. The central structure in the complex was only partially visible, as more than half of it was embedded in the mountain’s flank. Two stained-glass windows reflected the winter sunlight down on Mira and Moana as they approached the main wooden doors. The window on the left contained depictions of the fifteen Stormbreakers with their weapons raised as though they were defending the Monastery against some unseen threat. On the right, a yellow and blue window portrayed Jericho with her arms outstretched to either side, making her look a little bit like a four-pointed Star with a long tail. Everywhere Mira looked, there were humans wearing robes and gauntlets. Monks and nuns alike went about their daily tasks with their hands securely hidden inside those strange devices.   
  
Mira had barely raised her hand to knock on the monastery door when it was abruptly pulled open from the inside. A nun wearing similar gauntlets to everyone else asked Mira and Moana to leave their shoes outside and then stood aside to let them into a wide vestibule with a high wooden ceiling. The warm air washed over Mira so intensely that she thought she might just fall asleep standing up. A swaying motion out the corner of her eye revealed Moana was having similar thoughts. Fortunately, Mira didn’t have a chance to act on this desire. A tall monk with dark skin and a receding hairline approached and said;  
  
“Welcome to Mazama Monastery. I am Warlock Vitali Bojko and I will be your host for the duration of your stay.”  
  
Mira, who had gotten used to interacting with Humans by this point, instinctively reached out her hand and introduced herself.  
  
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She said, “I’m Mira Mihaka, Science Officer of the Partogan Science Ship _Midak_. My friend is Petty Officer Moana Ranginui.”  
  
There was an awkward pause as Mira waited patiently for Warlock Bojko to shake her hand. When he didn’t do so, Mira lowered her arm and swung it from side to side to conceal her embarrassment. She bit her lip and asked,  
  
“Um, well... The invitation said something about meeting your ‘Venerable Abbess.’ When can we do that?”  
  
Warlock Bojko stood to one side and gestured towards a set of doors on the far end of the vestibule.  
  
“She will speak to you in the morning.” He said, “In the meantime, she insists you spend tonight in the Guesthouse. Our enemies are very close by and it isn’t safe to wander.”  
  
Both Mira and Moana stopped in their tracks at the mention of “enemies.” Moana looked sheepishly at the ground, knowing that her assumption about Oregon’s safety had just been proven false.  
  
“Enemies?” Mira asked nervously, “How do worshippers like you have enemies?”  
  
Bojko took a second to think over his answer,  
  
“They are heretics,” he explained, “They’ve rejected the teachings of our Venerable Abbess, and now bring violence against her. You have no need to fear for your safety. As our honored guests, I have dispatched my Templar warriors into the forest to ensure the Monastery remains safe during your visit. Now...”  
  
Bojko opened the inner door of the vestibule and lead the two Partogans into a hallway that gently sloped downwards, deeper and deeper into the ground.  
  
“This is the door to the Guesthouse.” Bojko pointed to a handmade wooden door a short distance down the hallway. “You’ll find two beds, a separate washroom and lavatory, and a meditation chamber. When it is mealtime, one of the nuns will come to escort you to the Refectory. The library is also free to use. Tomorrow morning, I’ll take you to see the Venerable Abbess. Do you have any questions?”  
  
Mira’s mind was completely blank, although she would certainly think of something to ask once Bojko was already gone. So instead, she just thanked Bojko for his help and followed Moana into the Guesthouse. Moana fell down onto her bed at once, looked up at the ceiling, and said;  
  
“I think I just remembered where I heard about this place before.”  
  
Moana’s casual launching of a conversation was a sign of how far the barrier of animosity between her and Mira had fallen recently. Mira didn’t answer right away. Sitting down on her own bed, Mira was waiting for a little input from the Whisperers in the Void, who had been acting as her “Muse” ever since she had formed a covenant with the mysterious being in the Shroud. Normally, Mira wouldn’t respond to someone until the creature living in her mind had volunteered its opinion, but for some reason it had chosen to stay silent. Mira scratched her head, silently encouraging the Whisperers in the Void to speak up, but nothing came. Finally, she decided to just let Moana talk.  
  
“So, where’d you hear the name before?” Mira asked,  
  
“The Great Library in Partoga City,” said Moana, “I figured it out when Bojko mentioned ‘Templar warriors’. In one of the accounts of the Partogans who survived the War in Heaven; they wrote about a faction of Humans who were powerful Psionics. They called themselves ‘Templars’ and used telepathy and telekinesis as their main weapons in battle. They were supposed to be a dominant force in the North American continent around the time of the War in Heaven.”  
  
Moana looked around the little room and sighed,  
  
“I’m not sure, but I think this Monastery is all that’s left of them. I mean, we haven’t seen people wearing robes or gauntlets like those anywhere else on the planet, have we?”  
  
“But we don’t know if these people are actually Psionic.” Mira interrupted, “We haven’t seen anyone actually use telekinesis, telepathy, or anything like that.”  
  
“Okay,” Moana replied, “What about this ‘Venerable Abbess’? The one we’re supposed to be meeting?”  
  
Mira answered right away  
  
“I’m not sure.” She said, “This community is similar to the convents and priories back on Partoga. If we were back home, I’d say no, they aren’t psionic; but this is an alien planet. Anything goes out here.”  
  
Moana sighed and started settling into her bed; kicking off her shoes and socks before shedding her outermost layer of clothing.  
  
“I hate the ‘wait and see’ approach” She admitted, “but it looks like our best bet.”  
  
Moana pulled up the covers of her bed and turned to face the window, watching the sun set beyond the rim of Crater Lake.  
  
The two were silent for a while, watching the sunlight retreat from the Guesthouse window. As night settled in, Moana’s breathing became deeper and more relaxed. Soon she was asleep. Mira wasn’t. As soon as Moana had started nodding off, Mira had started hearing a soft, gentle hissing noise from the door leading to the meditation chamber. Once Moana was well and truly asleep Mira got up and quietly stepped inside. 

The meditation chamber was wholly unremarkable. Presumably this was a deliberate choice on the part of the builder, so that the occupant may spend more time focusing on introspection than their surroundings. As soon as Mira entered the chamber, the soft hissing became a louder, growing into a chorus of thousands of quiet voices speaking in unison. Together they said,  
  
“So many secrets. So much knowledge. We feast!”  
  
Mira folded her arms, leaned against the wall of the meditation chamber and said aloud,  
  
“Is that where you’ve been? I thought you couldn’t leave my mind.”  
  
“We cannot” replied the Whisperers in the Void, “But our attention has been... divided... by this place. You perceive our loss of focus as absence.”   
  
“Right,” Mira said, “So why don’t you share some of this glorious feast with me? Something to help me out when I meet the Abbess perhaps?”  
  
The Whisperers in the Void became discordant again, as though they couldn’t decide which secret to reveal first. When they reassembled, they spoke in a hurry.  
  
“The Abbess of this monastery is not venerable, at least by your standards. She has lived one full lifetime and half of another. The Abbess threw herself into religion to atone for a terrible crime committed in her distant past; teaches others to worship Jericho as a god while she herself does not believe in Jericho’s omnipotence.”  
  
Mira frowned,  
  
“A closeted atheist in a position of power in a religious community?” Mira wondered, “Humans never fail to surprise me. Is she Psionic?”  
  
“Yes” replied the Whisperers in the Void, “Immense power is at her disposal. Not on the same scale as Jericho once possessed, but immense nonetheless. She is almost certainly the reason this monastery never fell to her enemies.”  
  
“Why would she have enemies?” Mira started to ask, but the Whisperers in the Void cut across her,  
  
“The Templar Schism predates her, began almost immediately after the War in Heaven.” The Whisperers in the Void expounded, “Templars all over the planet interpreted Jericho’s actions differently and wrote countless different religious doctrines around her. The First Templar tried to hold the organization together; he was overpowered and the Templars fractured. Now there are many sects, factions, and splinter groups. While we are safe on the island, Templars do battle against one another on the shore and further inland. Each one fights in the name of Jericho. They all think they are doing her bidding.”  
  
Mira had to think about that last part for a moment. Of course, she had actually met Jericho in the Shroud. Mira was only here on this island _because_ Jericho wasn’t omnipotent and needed help from one of these Psionics. Now it started to seem like Mira had run into a different kind of problem. Reacting to Mira’s train of thought, the Whisperers in the Void said,  
  
“Every Templar, including the Abbess of this place, has their own preconceived notion of what Jericho is like. They are unlikely to believe your story of meeting Jericho because it will not match up with their beliefs about her.”  
  
Mira bit her lip in thought,  
  
“Okay, what about the Shroud?” She asked, “Have any of the Templars been there? Could I use it to prove my story is true?”  
  
“Yes,” the Whisperers in the Void answered, “Two Templars have been to the Shroud. Unfortunately, both visits occurred-“  
  
The Whisperers in the Void abruptly stopped speaking. Mira stopped leaning on the wall and stood up straight,  
  
“What is it?” she asked,  
  
“Someone... is listening to us... far more aware of our presence than we first thought...” The Whisperers in the Void trailed away, and became silent.  
  
“Mira! Hey Mira! Who are you talking to in there?”  
  
Mira jumped from surprise and hit her head on the ceiling.  
  
“Ow!” she said, “Moana, you scared me!”  
  
The meditation door swung open and Moana peered inside.  
  
“You scared me.” Moana said, “I could hear you talking to yourself.”  
  
Mira froze in place and stammered;  
  
“You... you did?”  
  
 “Yeah,” said Moana, “Is everything okay? Anything you want to talk about?”  
  
Mira grabbed the door from Moana and slowly began closing it in her face.  
  
“I’m fine.” Mira said, “I’ll see you in the morning.”  
  
...  
  
No matter how hard Mira focused or how long she waited, the Whisperers in the Void didn’t return to her that night. She eventually gave up and went to bed, fully aware that Moana watched her leave the meditation chamber and climb into bed.   
  
The next day, sunrise was heralded by the distant sounds of thunder. When Mira poked her head out the window to look for storm clouds, she didn’t see any. The sky was blue and calm, aside from the occasional deep _booms_ of thunder coming from the west. A Human nun collected Mira and Moana from the Guesthouse and took them to the kitchen for breakfast. Both Partogans were stunned when they were presented with a traditional meal from their homeworld of Partoga: Grilled Pokawi with Thornax stew and a side of Bula berries. After being prompted by Mira, Bojko explained how Partogan warriors had left behind vast amounts of their own foodstuffs after the war: Pokawi birds were flightless, easily caught, and a good source of meat, Bula berries can grow just about anywhere in the galaxy, provided there’s air. Thornax berries weren’t really native to Partoga, but Bojko was confident that they had been introduced to Earth’s environment by Partogans.  
  
Then it was time to meet the Abbess. Bojko took Mira and Moana deep into the Monastery, into the part of the building which lay under the mountain. It was extremely hot in here. Some humans had gone to a lot of trouble to build and install an air conditioning system to keep the place cool, but it didn’t seem to be all that effective. Moana and Mira didn’t mind the heat so much, since Partoga was naturally warmer than Earth at all times.  
  
Finally, at what felt like the very bottom of the Monastery, Bojko opened a set of double doors and showed Mira and Moana into the room. The underground temple had been carved right into a wall of volcanic rock that looked to have cooled only a hundred years ago. It was also very well lit: a small chandelier hung from the sloped ceiling scattering light everywhere. The room was conical, with Mira, Moana, and Bojko standing at the wide end. The temple became progressively narrower closer towards the far end before abruptly ending in a large shrine. A round dome stuck out of the floor, surrounded by four silver pillars. Kneeling in front of the dome facing towards the door was an extremely old human woman, who seemed more interested in her book than the three people who had just entered the room. Curiously, unlike everyone else in the Monastery, this elderly person wasn’t wearing gauntlets, although a pair did rest on the floor right next to her.  
  
Bojko coughed loudly to get the Abbess’ attention and then exited the temple, closing the doors behind him. The Abbess looked up at the two Partogans, smiled, and said:  
  
"Thank you for accepting my invitation. Please join me.”  
  
The Abbess closed her book and set it down on her left side, opposite her gauntlets. When she sat down across from the Abbess, Mira realized that this woman had exceeded the average lifespan of a human by a massive amount. Her eyes were a faded shade of grey and had barely perceptible cataracts, suggesting her vision was heavily impaired. The Abbess’ hands shook and her breathing was short and uneasy. Mira was terrified the woman might keel over and die right in front of her. Mira opened her mouth to speak, but the Abbess held up a hand.  
  
“Before we discuss the purpose of your visit, I sense you have a lot of questions about me and my people. Things will go more smoothly if you ask questions, and I’ll do my best to enlighten you.”  
  
Mira and Moana looked at each other quickly, and Moana gave Mira a look that said “all yours.”  
  
Mira didn’t know where to start, so she just started with a simple question:  
  
“Who are you? Why did you want to meet us?”  
  
The Abbess seemed to have trouble making eye contact with Mira. Her head shook perceptibly. When she answered, her voice was soft and tired;  
  
“I am the Abbess of Mazama Monastery.” She said, “I give Jericho’s wisdom and teach people how to use the Gift. It has been so long since I met a Gifted Offworlder, and I sent for you right away.”  
  
 “How did your messenger know where to find us?” Mira asked, “We didn’t exactly publish our movements.”  
  
The Abbess chuckled and smiled,  
  
“That was easy. This might be your first foray into the world of Psionics, Mira, but you make more noise, shine more light, and cause more of a ruckus than anyone I’ve seen in recent memory. I could spot you from a star system away. In fact, I did. I first spotted you in the Alpha Centauri system.”  
  
Mira’s jaw dropped. Her brain scrambled to understand what the Abbess had just said. Then the Whisperers in the Void gave her a nudge: _The Abbess can detect Shroud-Beings!_  
  
“Yes...Yes I can.” Said the Abbess.  
  
Moana, her eyes wide, stared back and forth between Mira and the Abbess. Then she understood that part of the conversation had been carried on silently.  
  
“Hold on!” Said Moana, “Are you reading our minds?”  
  
The Abbess nodded politely,  
  
“Normally I use the Gift to communicate telepathically with my people, but your thoughts are so... untrained, so slow, and transparent. I can hear them with no effort at all.”  
  
Moana actually turned pale. Mira felt her own blood running cold. How was she supposed to trade-  
  
“I know my invitation offered a trade of information.” The Abbess interrupted Mira’s thoughts, “But I wasn’t expecting the knowledge I wanted to just throw itself at me last night while your friend was trying to sleep. It makes me feel like I invited you here under false pretenses or something ridiculous like that.”  
  
Mira felt a rustling next to her and knew that Moana had almost stood up. Maybe she was angry to find out Mira’s mind had been “probed.”  
  
“You told me what I wanted to know, Mira, even if you didn’t mean to.” Said the Abbess. “You won’t leave here empty-handed, though. I promised a trade. I’ll still going to give you something in return.”  
  
Moana and Mira stared at each other again. What information had the Abbess stolen from Mira? How important was it?  
  
“I know why you’ve come so far from your ship, Mira.” Said the Abbess. “And not only can I help, I have some very interesting news regarding your dilemma.”  
  
Then the Abbess turned to Moana.  
  
“As for you,” said the Abbess, “I can see that you have questions unrelated to Mira’s mission.”  
  
The Abbess stood up. Mira and Moana followed suit.  
  
“I’ll respect both of your desires for privacy. For the moment, I have another matter to attend to today. This evening, you may come back and I’ll see you separately, and I’ll give a one-on-one interview to each of you. Moana, I will answer your questions. Mira, I will help you complete your mission. I won’t ask for payment since Mira paid in advance, even if she didn’t intend to.”  
  
...  
  
All the way back to the Guesthouse, Moana and Mira didn’t say a word to each other. Moana herself seemed to be processing a lot of emotions. As soon as Bojko left them in the Guesthouse though, Moana exploded.  
  
“Was that who you were talking to last night!?” Moana demanded, “She broke into your mind! My mind! OUR minds! I don’t believe it! We’ve been had!”  
  
Mira tried to calm Moana down, but the _Midak_ ’s Petty Officer wasn’t hearing any of it.  
  
“No!” said Moana, “We’re leaving! I’m not putting up with this anymore! I refuse- AND WHAT THE HELL IS **THAT** NOISE!”  
  
Moana’s tirade had been interrupted by the loudest crash of thunder yet. It sounded as though a powerful storm was close by, yet the sky outside the window was as clear and blue as ever. This latest thunderclap, however, was powerful enough to rattle the window in its frame. Mira could feel the vibration of it in her feet.  
  
“I don’t think that was thunder...” Mira thought out loud, and at that moment, the Guesthouse door swung open. Vitali Bojko and a nun were standing in the hallway. Mira gasped. Not only were both of the Humans wearing the gauntlets she’d seen before, but now they were fully kitted out with some kind of battle armor. The nun was even wearing a helmet which completely covered her face.  
  
“Guests,” said Bojko, “For your own safety I ask you to stay here in the Guesthouse for the rest of the day. You may go further into the temple to visit the Abbess if you wish, but please do not leave the building.”  
  
And then they left. Mira threw all caution to the wind and pushed the Guesthouse window open. Cold winter air blew into the little space, and so did the sounds. The dull thumps of explosions and the occasional pops of gunfire echoed around the rim of Crater Lake. After a few minutes, Mira and Moana heard the strangled yelling of a Human in pain.  
  
“There’s a battle going on out there.” Mira breathed, “Templars fighting Templars. What must it be like to fight in a war where nearly everyone uses their mind as a weapon?”  
  
“I’m not sticking around to find out,” said Moana, “I’m gonna talk to the Abbess right now and see if she can get us out of here!”  
  
Moana stormed out of the Guesthouse and started down the hall, leaving Mira by herself. Mira couldn’t draw herself away from the window. She had been entranced by the sounds of warfare outside. Leaning on the sill so that her head was halfway out the window, Mira wondered out loud,  
  
“Why would Templars attack each other; attack their own Monastery?”  
  
The Whisperers in the Void answered so suddenly that Mira startled,  
  
“The Prophets of the Storm don’t want the Abyssal Observers to have access to the volcano beneath us. It requires an immense amount of energy to enter the Shroud, and the Abbess is planning to do just that.”  
  
“Oh, you’re back.” Mira said conversationally, “You lose focus again?”  
  
“Not exactly,” replied the Whisperers in the Void, “We have been listening. The Abbess seems to have been planning her own entry into the Shroud ever since she became aware of the connection between us. She wants to know the dispositions of all Shroud-Beings. One is unaccounted for...   
  
The Whisperers in the Void trailed off and Mira decided to ask how exactly one entered the Shroud deliberately. But she had barely started to say the word “what” when the Whisperers in the Void suddenly returned, speaking in a cacophony of intense voices.  
  
“There’s someone in the Shroud! An intruder! A Partogan intruder just entered the Shroud! Warn the Abbess!”  
  
Mira leapt into action at once. Springing out of the Guesthouse and down the hallway as quickly as she could, Mira retraced her steps to the underground temple quickly. Mira flung open the doors to the underground temple, only to find it was empty. Mira began walking back up the ramp towards the higher levels of the Monastery. She would open every single door in the place until she found the Abbess.   
  
Thankfully, Mira didn’t have to do that. The first door she came to was opened from the inside by Moana.  
  
“She sent me to find you!” Moana gasped, “She just... changed! She changed!”  
  
Moana led Mira through a small corridor into a chamber Mira thought she would never find in a Monastery.  
  
It was a war room. In the center of the room was a big table with a topographical map of Crater Lake and the surrounding areas. Little plastic circles, painted with all sorts of symbols, were placed on the map to represent groups of soldiers, or perhaps weapons. Banks of computers ringed the wall and Templars were either tapping away at their keyboards or else talking hurriedly into headsets. Before looking for the Abbess, Mira snatched a quick glance at the War Map. The situation was worse than Mira thought. An unmistakably hostile force was advancing towards Wizard Island from the west and held the numerical advantage over its defenders. Then Mira looked up, saw the Abbess, and froze from pure terror.   
  
The Abbess of Mazama Monastery no longer looked like the fragile, kind old woman Mira had met this morning. She stood up straight, her hands steady and sealed up inside of another set of gauntlets, which themselves had changed. A technological device within the gauntlets had activated, causing them to emit a soft dark blue light. The Abbess’ eyes had turned purple from all of the Psionic energy welling up inside of her, her cataracts gone. Speaking of things that were gone, so were many of the wrinkles on her face. The Abbess seemed to have shed fifty years off of her age by simply activating her powers.   
  
Mira, who had never dealt with a Psionic being in her life, was overwhelmed by all of this. Rooted to the spot, she didn’t move until the Abbess crossed the War Room, forcefully grabbed Mira by the shoulders and said,  
  
“It’s not you!? Who’s in the Shroud if it’s not you!?”  
  
Moana clearly had no idea what the Abbess was talking about, but Mira just ignored her. She finally found her voice and said,  
  
“The Whisperers in the Void say it’s a Partogan. I don’t know who.”  
  
The Abbess swore.  
  
“It’s not one of the Partogans on Earth.” Said the Abbess. “You’re the last one I had to check. It has to be someone on your homeworld.”  
  
The Abbess grabbed one of her Templars and said:  
  
“Assemble the Conclave of Telepaths and tell them to report to the Shrine! Quickly!”  
  
“But, ma’am!” The Templar protested, “If I pull anymore warriors off the front line, the Prophets of the Storm will overrun the temple!”  
  
“There are bigger things at stake than this temple!” The Abbess said “Do it! Once you’ve finished, put out a distress call to our allies and set up a defensive perimeter around the Monastery entrance!”  
  
Dragging Mira by the hand, the Abbess pulled Mira back down to the lowest level of the building. Some Templars were already there when the two arrived, Moana bringing up the rear. Mira saw that the Templars already in the room seemed to be transferring Psionic energy into the Shrine itself. Purple light radiated out and away from the silver pillars, while similarly colored clouds of smoke seeped out from underneath the Shrine’s main dome. Mira’s observations were interrupted by the Whisperers in the Void,  
  
“There’s a male Partogan moving through the Shroud,” they said, “and friends of our friends are making their way here by plane.”  
  
The Abbess pushed her way through the crowd of Templars (even more of them had appeared now, and Mira wasn’t sure where they were coming from) and placed her hand, gauntlet and all, directly on the Shrine. Then she looked around, pointed to Mira with her free hand and said,  
  
“Someone give her a pair of gauntlets! Quick!”  
  
One Templar broke off from the group and pulled off his own gauntlets. Mira was still having trouble mentally processing her first exposure to supernatural powers, so she just stood there and stared. While the Templar forcefully pulled his gauntlets over Mira’s hands, the Whisperers in the Void said,  
  
“These are Celestial Gauntlets, the favorite weapon of all Templars. They don’t actually give you Psionic powers, but instead, they amplify whatever powers you already have.”  
  
Mira’s voice came back,  
  
“What? I’m a Partogan, we don’t have-“  
  
Someone pushed Mira from behind and she stumbled over to the Shrine. The Abbess grabbed Mira by the wrist and pulled her the rest of the way.  
  
“I know-“ the Abbess began, but then she was interrupted by a tremor which shook the whole temple. Dust fell from the ceiling and several Templars yelled,  
  
“They’re on the island!”  
  
“Look at me!” The Abbess said loudly to Mira, “I know you’re confused and that you’re not sure what’s going on, you need to follow my lead and listen to the Whisperers in the Void. Whoever is inside the Shroud right now has malicious intent, and they’re going to do something horrible! Stay with me, no matter what! Do you understand?”  
  
Mira gulped and nodded.   
  
Both she and the Abbess put their hands on the Shrine dome, as behind them, the Templars raised their arms in unison, channeling all of their powers into the Shrine, Mira, and the Abbess. The temple shook more violently this time, and Moana yelled;  
  
“Whatever you’re going to do, you need to hurry!”  
  
Mira needed to focus. She blinked. And in that moment, the noise, the heat, and the temple vanished.

It took Mira a few moments to get her bearings. She had arrived in a place that was both foreign and strangely familiar. Mira stood on the precipice, at the edge of this strange new realm for a moment overlooking a vast ocean of swirling color and shadow. Then Mira remembered: There’s supposed to be someone else in here, right?  
  
 The Abbess of Mazama Monastery spontaneously appeared on Mira’s right. The Whisperers in the Void to her left. At once, the latter said,  
  
“We can sense it. A powerful sense of purpose. This Partogan has gone to great lengths to enter this place, to form a covenant with one of us. They feel invicible.”  
  
The Whisperers in the Void began to fly across the surface of the Shroud at a fast pace. Mira and the Abbess ran hard to keep up. Mira was stunned that a 150 year old Human could run as fast as a 37 year old Partogan, but then she remembered the strange properties of the Shroud, and how each stride could carry the traveler vast distances. The trio rocketed across the surface of the Shroud, searching for the intruder.  
  
“Do you have any idea who it could be?” The Abbess had to raise her voice to be heard above the rushing wind.  
  
“No!” Mira called back, “Partogans aren’t Psionic!”  
  
 “At least two of you have the Gift!” The Abbess returned, “You’ve been here once before! The Shroud can only visited by Gifted people!  
  
“Your powers are latent, Mira!” added the Whisperers in the Void, “They could have lain dormant for your entire life if none of this had happened! But there’s a Partogan just over that ridge who’s found and activated his own Gift!”  
  
“WHO IS IT!?” Mira demanded,  
  
“He’s just ahead! Over the hill!” Cried the Abbess,  
  
 Now, above the sounds of the wind, Mira could hear something else: hissing noises, and something akin to a blast of lightning. Battle! Even here in the Shroud?!  
  
Mira, the Abbess, and the Whisperers in the Void rounded the top of the hill and didn’t stop running when they saw what lay before them: A Partogan male, a Human female, and the Eater of Worlds were locked together in Psionic combat. Mira recognized Jericho on sight.  
  
“Help her!” Mira yelled,  
  
Jericho looked around to see who was joining the fight, and then re-oriented herself so that her back was to Mira. Jericho then conjured up a Psi Lance and hurled it with all her might at the Partogan man in front of her. The Eater of Worlds absorbed the blast and keeled over onto its back.  
  
“It won’t stay down for long!” The Whisperers in the Void swarmed around the Eater of Worlds and stung it like a cloud of enraged wasps. At the same moment, Mira and the Abbess reached Jericho and all three of them stood against the hostile Partogan. When Mira saw his face and recognized him, she stepped back and froze.  
  
It was Manaaki Ranginui, Patriarch of the Church of the Mountain. He swung his right arm as though he was brandishing a weapon. A whip made of pure Psychokinetic energy materialized as it slashed through the air, sizzling and popping like a terrible fire. The Abbess and Jericho each took a step back  
  
“The beast is mine!” Manaaki yelled, “It only obeys me now! Give up now or I’ll unleash this nightmare upon you heretics!”  
  
Jericho touched her hand to her forehead, and then pointed her index finger at the Holy Father and said in a hushed, threatening tone,  
  
“Your nightmare... is just starting.”  
  
Jericho’s Psionic attack was so immense, so powerful that the very ground cracked under Mira’s feet; the Holy Father grabbed his head with both hands and screamed! It was a scream to chill the blood and shatter glass, the scream of a man who’s every bone, muscle, and fiber was being burned at once!  
  
The Eater of Worlds threw off the Whisperers in the Void and lunged at Jericho! She broke off her attack just long enough to jump out of the way as the Abbess came to the rescue. Psionic energy radiated off her body as the old woman clenched her fists, and her Celestial Gauntlets activated, revealing the true weapon of the Templars. A Psionic blade extended out and away from the Abbess’ wrists, looking as though she had two shimmering purple swords attached directly to her forearms. She leapt into the air and brought both blades down upon the Eater of Worlds. Wounded, but still in the fight, the Eater of Worlds backed off from the Abbess and took a defensive footing. The Abbess hit the ground hard, falling to her hands and knees. She tried to get back to her feet, but Manaaki chose that moment to attack the Abbess while she was on the ground!  
  
“No!”  
  
Mira jumped into the fight at last. She had no idea how these Celestial Gauntlets were supposed to work and she certainly didn’t believe she had any kind of powers, but that didn’t stop Mira from placing herself directly between the fallen Abbess and her own Holy Father; Mira held her right hand up, palm out towards the Holy Father and stared directly into his eyes, willing him to stop.  
  
It was Manaaki’s turn to freeze now. He looked right into Mira’s face and realized who she was immediately. The Holy Father grimaced, and then yelled to the Eater of Worlds over his shoulder;  
  
“Kill all of them. Then go to the place where we agreed to meet.”  
  
Then he turned around and began to run away from the fight. Because of the way the Shroud works, he had traveled thousands of Kios and was completely out of sight before Mira could even take a single step. Manaaki was gone, and by now, had exited the Shroud from the place where he’d breached it.  
  
Before Mira could even compose herself, she was hit from behind and thrown to the ground. Mira rolled over on her side to see the Abbess, the Whisperers in the Void, and Jericho all fighting together against the Eater of Worlds. But now that they could focus their efforts, the enemy was being forced to give ground at last. Psi blades flashed on the Abbess’ wrists, Jericho’s invisible attacks shook the ground, and the Whisperers in the Void used its intangibility to great advantage. It seemed as though victory was finally within reach as the Abbess landed a brutal strike against the Eater of Worlds and Jericho yelled:  
  
“Asuna! That was beautiful!”  
  
Mira, the Abbess, and the Whisperers in the Void all hesitated.  
  
For a moment too long.  
  
The Eater of Worlds broke free from the Whisperers in the Void, dodged the Abbess’ next attack, side-stepped around Mira, and gored Jericho through the chest! The savior of the galaxy fell backward, but before she hit the ground, the Abbess had moved against the Eater of Worlds. She fired a colossal Psi Lance from one hand and stabbed with the other. Both strikes found their marks. Injured beyond the ability to fight, the Eater of Worlds finally retreated from the fight and from the Shroud altogether. It vanished into the mist and was gone.  
  
Mira, the Abbess, and the Whisperers in the Void all ran back to Jericho. She was lying face-up on the ground, both hands clutching the wound in her chest. Instead of blood though, sand was piling up and spilling out of her. As Mira knelt down next to Jericho, Jericho’s hands began crumbling and falling away.  
  
 Jericho looked up at Mira.  
  
“The Eater of Worlds,” Jericho started,  
  
“Don’t talk!” Mira gasped, “Let us help you!”  
  
Jericho waved her arms in a “no” gesture,  
  
“I’m out of powers.” She said, “I’m done. Just let me help you before...”  
  
Jericho coughed, and the Whisperers in the Void took over for her,  
  
“The Eater of Worlds is probably on Partoga now, giving its power to Manaaki as it promised. He will become an invincible Psionic warrior. Jericho says you need to use your Gift to separate it from its master. Go back to Partoga and confront him. Only another Psionic can separate the Eater of Worlds from its master.”  
  
Then Jericho looked at the Abbess,  
  
“Asuna Robinson,” Jericho said, her voice getting soft, “It’s so good to see you. You don’t know me. But I hope your parents told you about me. We were all friends. I was there when you were born, you know.”  
  
 “Jericho...” The Abbess started to say, but Jericho cut in,  
  
“I told Blake and Chihiro you’d be just as great as them. Jericho reached up and brushed the Abbess’ face with her rapidly dissolving wrist. “I’ll tell them how wonderful you-“  
  
The last of Jericho’s powers drained away, and her body collapsed into a pile of sand, running through the hands of the two women holding her.   
  
All Mira wanted in that moment was to just sit there. To have a quiet moment to mourn. But that wasn’t to be. The Whisperers in the Void suddenly called out,  
  
“Trouble in the real world! It’s time for you to leave!”  
  
Mira and the Abbess got to their feet, looked at Jericho’s remains one last time. Then they turned and ran back to the point they had entered the Shroud from.  
  
...  
  
  
Mira took her hands off the Shrine. The first thing she noticed was the silence. The tremors, the sounds of combat, the yelling; all of it had stopped. As the Abbess came back into her body, Mira looked around. Moana and two other Templars had barricaded the doorway using parts of the Shrine. Moana was facing Mira, her finger to her mouth and whispering quietly:  
  
_“They’re right outside._ ”  
  
There was a loud knocking noise on the other side of the door, and a human voice yelled through the door:  
  
“This is the Hawaiian National Army! Open up Robinson! We know you’re in there!”  
  
Mira held still as the Abbess quietly spoke with one of her Templars. The Templar explained the situation quietly to the Abbess, and she nodded to him grimly. The Whisperers in the Void didn’t need to whisper (it was inside Mira’s mind) but it did so anyway.  
  
“We’re sorry to tell you this right now, but the reinforcements the Abbess called for have turned hostile. A Templar they took prisoner revealed the Abbess’ true identity to them and they changed their intentions. They have overpowered both factions of Templars and now have the run of the island. Some of them are right outside the door.”  
  
“What do they have against Abbess Asuna?” Mira whispered as softly as she could, referring to the Abbess by the name Jericho had used.  
  
“Because the Abbess of Mazama Monastery _is not_ Asuna Robinson.” Answered the Whisperers in the Void.  
  
“Damnit.” Said the Abbess. “One of the Prophets of the Storm must have given me away.”  
  
While the other Templars argued quietly about what to do next, the Abbess came to Mira, put her mouth to Mira’s ear and hissed,  
  
“You and I are out of time. Here’s what you need to know: Keep the Celestial Gauntlets. You need them to defeat the Eater of Worlds and save Partoga from whatever that man is doing there. You do have the Gift. Train your mind. Keep Moana close. She may not act like it, but she is your ally. Lastly, there are traitors and spies aboard your ship. Be wary and get home safely.”  
  
Having finished whispering to Mira, the Abbess gave a hand signal to her fellow Templars, who removed the barricades from the doorway, took off their gauntlets, and then backed away from the door. The Abbess dropped her gauntlets as well and spoke to the closed door:  
  
“Gentlemen in the hallway! Lower your weapons! I surrender!”  
  
The temple door swung open. Seven Humans, fully armed and geared up came into the room. They practically ignored the Templars and Partogans. One of the soldiers stepped forward and said:  
  
“I don’t believe it. After all this time.”  
  
He raised the barrel of his Gauss Rifle and brushed it against the Abbess’ face as though he was checking to see if this was real. The other six Hawaiian soldiers registered similar looks of shock and surprise. Finally, the leader of the group finished prodding the Abbess with his rifle, stepped back and asked;  
  
“Are you really... you know... her?”  
  
The Abbess didn’t speak. She just nodded. At once, seven Gauss Rifles were raised and pointed directly at the Abbess’ chest, and the lead soldier said;  
  
“Akira Jaqueline Robinson, by order of the President of the Hawaiian Republic, you are under arrest for the murder of your parents, your brothers, and your sister.”


	18. After Everything

The next day passed in a blur for Mira. As soon as the Hawaiian soldiers detained Akira and her fellow Templars, they had contacted the Japanese government to arrange transport for Mira and Moana, only to learn that Captain Rangi was already in route. While the Hawaiians celebrated the capture of Akira, a Japanese plane swooped into a grass runway and collected Mira and Moana.  
  
The two Partogans were escorted to a nearby airfield where an airplane painted with Japan’s national colors was waiting for them. Captain Rangi was waiting by the gangway for them. He didn’t ask for an explanation or demand to know how and why two of his shipmates had reached the far side of the planet. He just ordered them onto the plane, told the pilot to fly to Nagasaki, and sat down at the very back of the plane, tapping away at his own tablet computer.  
  
 The Captain was so outraged with both of his shipmates that he didn’t say a word to either of them for the first leg of the journey. Eventually, he did come back to the front of the plane and explained how Mira and Moana had caused a diplomatic incident. Apparently, after receiving the distress call from Mazama Monastery, the Hawaiian National Army had entered Oregon’s territory illegally and had killed a few Oregonian citizens while fighting their way towards the Monastery. The Oregonian government became outraged and threatened retaliatory attacks on Hawaiian soil. The United Nations had been forced to step in to prevent a war from breaking out. Unfortunately, the situation had only been made worse when Akira had been found in the Monastery. The Hawaiian government accused Oregon of harboring the fugitive for the past 143 years.  
  
Here, Mira interrupted the Captain,  
  
“What happened to Akria?” she asked, “She helped Moana and I so much, maybe we could help her in return.”  
  
Rangi raised an eyebrow.  
  
“The gesture is noble, but pointless.” He said, “When Akira was captured, celebrations erupted all over the planet. One human told me there haven’t been parties like this since the end of the War in Heaven. There are hundreds of millions of Humans demanding her execution right now, and the Hawaiian Republic’s government is set on having Akira’s life ended as quickly as possible. I’d be surprised if she isn’t already dead.”  
  
“What?!” Mira exclaimed, “They wouldn’t execute her! She’s got to be over a hundred-fifty years old!”  
  
“She’s one-hundred fifty-six, and yes they will.” Rangi responded coldly. “You’ll see when we land in Japan.”  
  
After that, Mira, Moana, and the Captain all sat down in different parts of the plane and passed the next few hours in silence. Even the Whisperers in the Void seemed to have vacated Mira’s mind. She knew they were still there of course, they had simply become unfocused again.  
  
Throughout the first half of plane ride back to Japan, Mira held her tablet computer in her hand, but couldn’t bring herself to write another log. She didn’t know where to start. But she tried anyway:  
  
  
_[Expedition Log: 1 January, 2202 – Pacific Ocean]_  
  
 Yesterday... I went to... I saw... ... ...  
  
_[closed]_  
  
She couldn’t. Mira put her tablet down on her lap, and looked over at Moana. She seemed to be in a similar state of shock. Moana had drawn her legs up to her chest and was gently swaying back and forth in her seat, staring at the back of the seat in front of her and muttering softly to no one in particular.

“It’s over, it’s over. I’m going back to the ship. It’s over.” Moana repeated to herself.  
  
Mira leaned down and tossed her tablet back into her satchel, right next to her Celestial Gauntlets. For the longest time, she just stared at the weapons. _You have the Gift._ Akira had said. _Train your mind._ Mira shook her head and closed her eyes in deep thought. Partogans had never been a Psionic species. That had always been the Levakians, and they went extinct a century and a half ago.   
  
And yet here we were: Mira was a scientist at her core. She knew that the truth didn’t care about her feelings. No matter how often or loudly she dismissed this whole situation as “outlandish” or “implausible” the truth remained. Including herself, two Partogans had now entered the Shroud and formed a covenant with one of the beings who lived there. Akira had said that Manaaki had “malicious intent” when he contacted the Eater of Worlds. What did she mean? Mira pooled her willpower and summoned the Whisperers in the Void to the front of her mind.  
  
“You called?” they said,  
  
_When we met, you told me there were things happening back home that would affect me on the Midak._ Mira thought, _and since then you’ve either been holding back or downright forgetful. You haven’t held up your end of the deal. I got you out of the Shroud and let you live in my mind. Now you’re going to make this deal worth my time RIGHT NOW or you’re going to be homeless again._  
  
For a moment, the Whisperers in the Void didn’t say anything. Mira was just about to make another demand when they finally spoke up.  
  
"Your companion, Moana, is from the old Ranginui clan. For centuries, her family has held great power and influence in the Church of the Mountain. Under their guidance, the Church expanded its control over the Partogan government until even the Queen became their puppet.”  
  
_Everyone knows that._ Mira remembered, _My mama taught me that_ _Emily was the last Queen to rule independently of the Church. Queen Emily held the throne for only fifteen hours she was assassinated. She tried to ignore the Church’s commands._  
  
“The Ranginui family had her assassinated.” The Whisperers in the Void corrected, “In the centuries since, a power struggle has ensued behind the curtains of Partoga’s government. Each successive Queen has tried in her own way to break free of the Church and rule as an Absolute Monarch, while the Church seeks to curtail her power and make her into the figurehead of a theocratic state.”  
  
Mira furrowed her brow, trying to remember the days of her childhood, when Mira’s mother had ruled as Queen Kendra the Second. _Did mama ever have problems with the Church?_ When the Whisperers in the Void responded, it didn’t use its own symphony of voices. Instead, Mira heard a tinny-sounding replay of something Moana Ranginui had told her a week ago:  
  
“My whole family was arrested. Your mother thought my father was a revolutionary plotting to overthrow the monarchy”  
  
Mira’s blood ran cold. She looked over at Moana again.  
  
_How is Moana related to Manaaki?_ Mira thought, and The Whisperers in the Void replied in their normal voices:  
  
“Moana is Manaaki’s granddaughter. Although if you asked her right now, she’d deny any familial connection to him. She’s so embarrassed and humiliated by the actions he took three years ago that she volunteered to join the Midak’s crew as soon as a position became available. She found out that your mother’s fears were justified, that certain members of her family are planning to revolt in the name of the Church.  
  
“Towards the end of your mother’s reign, she groomed your personal Acolyte Haki to be her successor. After your mother died, Haki’s election was heavily contested by the Church. They resented her because she represented a continuation of your mother’s little... rebellion. And sure enough, they were right. High ranking members of the Church were removed from power. Known revolutionaries were arrested. The news media censored. In response to the changing balance of power, a plot was hatched. It was originally motivated by a desire for revenge; to hurt the Mihaka family just as much as they had hurt the Ranginui family, but over time it has grown into something far worse.  
  
“When you started calling for a science ship to find Earth, the Ranginui clan and their allies in the Church maneuvered to have as many of their enemies as possible placed on the ship, so that they’d be out of the way when the Church made its move. Haki, the one you now call “Queen Phoebe the Second” used your desire to find Earth as a cover for a secret military mission. A mission that might turn the tide should civil war break out on Partoga. And as we speak that mission has been accomplished. Captain Rangi and Commander Aranui have successfully acquired the things they were ordered to collect from the Humans.”  
  
Like she always did when she was frightened, Mira froze in place. The words of the Whisperers in the Void seemed to wash over her like ice water. Civil war? Was that possibility really on the table? _Could a civil war really happen to Partoga?_  
  
“It’s already started.” said the Whisperers in the Void. “The Church of the Mountain moved against the Monarchy five months after the Midak left home.”  
  
Mira jumped out of her seat!  
  
“What?!” Moana screamed, looking at Mira with wide eyes.  
  
“Where’s Rangi!” Mira almost yelled, her voice reverberating in the confines of the little airplane.  
  
Moana pointed to the back of the plane with a shaking hand. Mira turned and moved towards the back of the plane as quickly as she could, calling out Captain Rangi’s name.  
  
“Calm down, Mihaka!” Rangi snapped as he climbed out of his seat to meet Mira halfway down the cabin. “What is it? An excuse?”  
  
“No sir!” The words tumbled out of Mira’s mouth, “Sir, it’s the Holy Father Ranginui! He’s-“  
  
“He’s got spies on the ship.” Rangi interrupted in a bored tone. “Yes. I know. He’s also plotting a revolution. I know that one too. I think you’re the fifteenth person to tell me since Hanuere.”  
  
Mira caught her breath.  
  
“What?!”  
  
Rangi folded his arms and frowned.  
  
“Oh, come on. You really didn’t know? I thought you were in on it from the start!”  
  
Mira’s brain hurt.  
  
“What did you think I was in on?” she asked, “I’m completely in the dark here!”  
  
“I thought you were a Green Guard.” Said Rangi, “I thought you were on the Holy Father’s side this whole time.”  
  
Mira recoiled in horror!  
  
“Absolutely not!” She said, “I fought him yesterday! Why would I be on his side!?”  
  
The Captain’s demeanor changed immediately. He hid his confusion, tensed up, and curled his hands into fists.  
  
“He’s here on Earth?” Rangi growled, “Where?”  
  
“No, he’s not here!” Mira said, and she quickly launched into an explanation of her foray into the Shroud with Akira; telling about how she’d seen Manaaki Ranginui fighting side by side with the Eater of Worlds. While Moana Ranginui listened over Mira’s shoulder, Mira recounted the battle to Captain Rangi, who listened patiently with his arms crossed. Mira deliberately neglected to mention the existence of the Whisperers in the Void, ignored Moana’s terrified squeaking noise when she mentioned Manaaki, and also intentionally failed to mention that a pair of Celestial Gauntlets were in her Satchel.   
  
When Mira finished, Captain Rangi took a step back and swayed on his feet. He too needed a moment to process all of these revelations.  
  
“This is just great.” He muttered more to himself than to Mira, “Why can’t I just have a conventional war without witches and wizards!?”  
  
Captain Rangi composed himself, then grabbed Moana and Mira both by the shoulder.  
  
“Ranginui,” he said to Moana, “You’ve already shown why I can trust you. Mihaka, you need to do the same now. Listen closely. Do not repeat a word of anything I’m going to tell you to anyone else, understood?”  
  
Mira and Moana both nodded, and Rangi drew them closer.  
  
“Aranui and I have been in talks with the Japanese government and XCOM leadership. I explained the tenuous situation back home and invoked the “mutual support clause” in the old Triple Alliance Treaty. Japan refused to help us, but XCOM has agreed to transfer a stockpile of small arms and light weapons to the _Midak_ , under the condition that we hand over certain technologies to XCOM. They’ve also given us something to make our trip home a little faster.” He explained,  
  
“What does XCOM want from us?” Mira asked,  
  
 Captain Rangi waved his hands as though XCOM’s price was trivial;  
  
“Just the schematics for our Hyperspace Module and Phased Disassembler Array. I was more willing to part with the design specs rather than the devices themselves.” He said, “Any other questions?”  
  
“What do you want from us?” Moana asked,  
  
“Your absolute silence while aboard the _Midak_.” Replied Captain Rangi, “and more importantly, your total loyalty to Her Highness the Queen of Partoga.”  
  
Rangi looked at Mira when he said that. Mira nodded,  
  
“Haki’s my friend.” Said Mira, “I’ll help however I can.”  
  
 “Good!” said Captain Rangi. He took his hands off Mira and Moana’s shoulders and clasped them together, a bit like a businessman who’s just closed an important deal.  
  
“When we get back to the _Midak_ , don’t wander.” He said, “I know the Japanese government said we can stay for three months, but I’m planning to cut this visit short. We have what we came for. And you found out what happened to Jericho, right Mihaka? That’s why you came along, isn’t it?”  
  
Mira’s voice caught in her throat.  
  
“Uh, yeah. Yeah I did.”  
  
The trio looked around at one another.  
  
“Does anyone else have any deep, dark, burning secrets they wish to reveal?” Captain Rangi asked, “Last chance!”  
  
No one spoke.  
  
“Good!” Said the Captain, “I’m going up front to speak to the pilot about getting to Japan any faster. You two catch up on your sleep. You’ll need any rest you can get going forward.”  
  
Neither Moana nor Mira could sleep though. They sat next to one another for the rest of the flight.   
  
The plane landed at Nagasaki airport in the early morning. As it raced down the runway, Mira looked out the window and briefly saw the _Midak_ resting outside the airport terminal before her attention was drawn to the entrance to XCOM Headquarters. A huge mob of Japanese citizens was gathering outside the building. Nearly two thousand humans were yelling, chanting, screaming, and waving signs, banners, and at least one giant balloon with Japanese writing painted all around the sides. As Mira, Moana, and Captain Rangi deplaned, the Captain said;  
  
“This is what I was talking about. When I left, there were nearly five thousand people here. The plane actually had trouble taking off because there were people on the runway.”  
  
As the trio began walking back towards the _Midak_ , Mira strained her eyes and ears to figure out what the mob was yelling about.  
  
“NO MERCY!” Someone yelled,  
  
“Hang Robinson!” a young human boy cried, “Hang the murderer!”  
  
The giant balloon swiveled on the spot to reveal the side facing away from Mira, and she saw the English words spelling out: “Eye for an eye! Murder the murderer!”  
  
 “I am sorry.” Captain Rangi whispered to Mira, “I know you wanted to help her but one of the people Akira killed was a Japanese national hero. The UN, XCOM, and all of the Human governments are going to bend to the will of the mob here. There’s just nothing we can do.”  
  
...  
  
Once Mira was back aboard the _Midak,_ she started searching for her friend Kaia, but she’d barely taken two steps when the Whisperers in the Void stopped her.  
  
“Don’t talk to Kaia!” They said,  
  
_What?_ Mira thought, _Why not!_  
  
“She can’t be trusted to keep your secret!” The Whisperers in the Void said “Furthermore, she is more loyal to the Holy Father than the Queen, and will not take kindly to you accusing him of rebellion.”  
  
Mira slammed both of her fists against the Cargo Bay wall in frustration, causing Anika Aranui (who was passing through) to stop and stare at Mira. Once Aranui had walked down the ramp and off the ship, Mira said aloud;  
  
“How do you know?!”  
  
“Kaia Patariki likes to associate with other Church loyalists aboard the ship.” Replied the Whisperers in the Void. “She values their friendship just as much as she values your friendship with her, and the group long ago accepted her as one of them. It is highly unlikely, nay, nearly impossible that she will side with you against Manaaki. It is more likely she will either sit out the fight or turn against you.”  
  
“Then who am I supposed to talk to?!” Mira said in frustration,  
  
“Not the wall” said a voice to Mira’s right, “It’s a good listener, but it never has anything interesting to say.”  
  
Mira turned her head so quickly that her long silver hair whipped around and hit her face. Tai Whiu, a Partogan Mira had met once in college but never spoken to, was standing in the doorway connecting the Cargo Bay to the Power Plant and staring at Mira. She must have given him a dirty look, because Tai threw up his hands and backed out of the room saying,  
  
“Don’t mind me, carry on.”  
  
Frustrated and angry, Mira tried to resume her conversation with the Whisperers in the Void, but they had lost focus again and were gone. Mira kicked the wall and went back up to her quarters. Kaia wasn’t there. Nor was anyone else for that matter. Mira turned on her tablet computer and tuned into a live news station broadcasting from somewhere in Nagasaki. The news anchor was speaking in Japanese, but the image behind his head told Mira everything she needed to know.  
  
Behind the news anchor on Mira’s screen was a photograph of the elderly Abbess of Mazama Monastery. She was standing on a strange, spindly contraption whose sole purpose appeared to be supporting a rope tied into a noose. Mira shut the tablet off and threw it onto her bed. She wanted to scream.  
  
Mira threw herself onto her bed, put her face into her pillows and waited, desperately hoping to fall asleep before....  
  
A noise. A noise like a rising storm or an incoming freight train seeped into the _Midak._ The mob of people demanding Akira’s execution had just erupted into jubilant celebration, and Mira knew why.  
  
The situation had gone from bad to worse: The only Human who could have helped Mira understand the dangerous situation she was in was now dead, Mira was being advised not to trust her best friend by the Whisperers in the Void, her rival Moana was now something like a friend, and Manaaki Ranginui had recognized Mira in the Shroud. Mira felt like she’d jumped out of a frying pan and into a fire. How had this mission to find Earth spiraled so far out of control?  
  
Mira pulled out her tablet computer and pressed the “Begin Recording” button:  
  
_[Personal log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, On the Surface of Earth, 2 January, 2202]_  
  
All of my worst suspicions have been confirmed. There are sinister plots in motion, and just like in Oregon, I’m about to get caught in the crossfire between two warring factions. This time though, I’m not going to stand on the sidelines and watch someone get killed. My friends and family are back home! I’m scared for my papa, my brother, and my niece; and I’m also scared for my friend Haki. Just like me, she’s got untrustworthy people in her camp.   
  
I’ve seen that thing Manaaki Ranginui calls his “ally” and I know what it can do. With the Eater of Worlds on his side, Ranginui might be able to overthrow Haki before we get home. I don’t know much about Shroud-Creatures, but I do know the Eater of Worlds is hungry. Very hungry. It won’t be satisfied with just Haki. It’ll keep killing and eating until Ranginui loses control of it.   
  
We all missed the beginning of the fight. Fine. But the Midak is still here. There are about sixty Partogans out here who are loyal to their Queen and we’ll make DAMN sure Ranginui doesn’t get room to breathe. We’ll fly the Midak to pieces if it means we get home faster; and when we get there, we’ll fight until the entire Church is put back in its place at the Queen’s feet. I’ll find Ranginui and cut the Eater of Worlds off him myself if I have to.   
  
Hold on Papa. Hang in there Tai and little Maki. I’m coming home.  
  
_ [Personal log closed] _

_ _


	19. The New War

_[Personal Log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, On the Surface of Earth, 7 January, 2202]_  
_Sys/ automated backup engaged…successfully saved all data to external storage device_  
  
Ten days until liftoff! Ever since my talk with Captain Rangi he’s been including me in more and more Command Staff functions. I have to go between my science team, to meetings on the Bridge, and back again about eight or nine times a day now. On one side, I’m so tired I think I’m going to melt into the floor, but on the other hand, I’m now fully integrated into the military side of the mission. The big surprise of the day is that only the ship’s commissioned officers seem to be aware of the Midak’s true mission. Including myself and Moana Ranginui, who was brought into the fold as well, that makes eleven of us who are up on the mission to get help for Queen Phoebe. 

But I’m sure that won’t last. When the Captain announced that we were packing up and leaving early, there were more rumors and speculations aboard the Midak than on the Human’s news networks. You can’t go anywhere on the ship anymore without hearing people muttering and whispering to each other suspiciously. The Captain is certain some details about the mission leaked out during the year-and-a-half long flight to Earth. “It was inevitable” he said.  
  
In the meantime, there’s a lot to do; both before we take off from Earth and during the flight to Partoga. Before we leave, we need to take delivery of the weapons promised by XCOM. There are also several diplomatic functions and ceremonies meant to restore Partoga’s relationship with Earth. On board the ship, we have nearly a dozen experiments which can only be run in Earth’s atmosphere and gravity. They all need to be stopped and packed away.   
  
The big, important thing though, is that I get to use my astronomy degree for the first time this whole mission. Every moment I’m not eating, sleeping, doing science, or in a meeting, I’m charting our flightpath back to Partoga. Before we left home, General Irawaru Ruru (the commander of the Partogan Royal Army) told me that the return trip would take sixty-eight hyperspace jumps. About a year and a half in total. He didn’t know about the Slipgate in the Atlas system, though. Using the Slipgate and burning the Midak’s engines as hard as possible, I can cut the trip down to twelve months. Commander Aranui is also going to ask the Humans if they have any records of Slipgates in or around their space. We need anything that’ll get us home faster. 

Speed is of the essence here because Manaaki Ranginui and his allies aren’t expecting us to return until after seven years, if we return at all. According to Captain Rangi, the unexpected re-appearance of an armed Midak might be sufficient to turn the tide of a civil war if we “exploited the element of surprise properly.” I’m no military person, so I’ll just have to take him at his word and hope he’s right.  
  
Another item on our “prelaunch checklist” is to find the Church’s spy. As far as I can tell, the whole crew suspects someone is spying on us for the Church of the Mountain, and fingers are pointing in all directions: Some people suspect Tai Whiu because he’s so quiet. Some say Maia Maaka because she acts too childish when she’s supposed to be a soldier. A lot of the Science Team suspects their comrade Anahera Mita because she hasn’t learned anything about the Anaplague since she discovered it. My best friend Kaia thinks the spy is my “kinda-sorta-new-friend” Moana Ranginui, and I personally think it’s Meto Kapua. If you’ve listened to any of my earlier logs, you’ll know he’s broken into my quarters once and searched all of my things. You don’t do that if you’re not a spy.   
  
Unfortunately, there are sixty of us on the ship and only nine Officers, so Rangi and Aranui’s investigation is moving very slowly. Aranui told me that someone in the Comms Tower crew accused ME of being the spy! Can you believe it!? She said they took issue with me being given command of the Science Team by the Queen at the last moment. Pffft! Ridiculous.  
  
Anyway, the last thing I want to talk about actually does have something to do with Meto. After I found out he listened to my logs without my permission, Kaia told me I was lucky he didn’t delete my logs outright. So now I’ve taken a precaution: My tablet computer is now rigged to automatically transmit its data to an external hard drive. I won’t say where it is. I can manually trigger the function:  
  
_Sys/ automated backup engaged…successfully saved all data to external storage device._  
  
Or just let it happen every five minutes like it’s supposed to. This way, if something does happen to my tablet, then all of my logs will be preserved, even if I can’t make new ones.  
  
Alright, that’s me done. Back to astronavigation!  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: January 8, 2202 – Unzen Jigoku, Japan.]_  
  
Nine days until liftoff! The Humans working at Nagasaki Airport were kind enough to escort me to the slopes of Unzen, a large mountain to the west of Nagasaki. Once I got away from all of the city lights and the sun went down, I could see the local starfield above Earth in much better clarity. I’ve been here for a few hours, charting the local stars and plotting Midak’s flightpath out of here on my tablet when I saw something so incredible I just had to stop and write about it!   
  
The Earth’s moon is rising above the south-western horizon right now and I’ve just gotten my first really good look at it. Of course, I’ve seen pictures of it in my history textbook at school, but they don’t do justice to the real thing.  
  
_Sol3A_orbital_image file uploaded_

__

  
The Moon is pulverized! I can see two huge impact craters and about five hundred smaller ones left over from the War in Heaven. One of those two craters is all that’s left of the “Avatar,” the Flagship of the Partogan Royal Navy during the battle. Queen Miranda the Third was on the bridge giving orders from beginning to end; the Avatar got crushed in between Agammenon and Earth’s Moon and now that black stain on the surface is all that’s left.  
  
I wish I could’ve seen the Avatar in its prime. It was supposed to be a behemoth of a ship: nearly twenty Kios long, sixty Kios tall, and thirty wide; and it had space for nearly a thousand fighters, bombers, and corvettes. She was a thing of beauty, too. When you looked at the Avatar from the bow, it resembled a great big cross flying through space. Nothing like it’s been built since. Well, maybe the “Tantomile,” which is our current flagship. But it was built by the Levakians before they died out. She’s not really a Partogan creation.  
  
Hey, I’m not saying anything against you navy guys, but the Mothership of the Partogan navy should be a PARTOGAN SHIP, you know? Not a hundred-seventy year old Levakian one.  
  
Okay, I’m rambling now. Back to work.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal Log Addendum: January 9, 2202 – HMS Midak]_  
  
Eight days to go and now we have a flightplan! I’ve worked out a path that’ll take us back to Partoga in relatively short time. It goes like this: From Sol we jump to Tau Centauri, then to Alpha Centauri to Abbasid, Gliese, Sirius, Corug-Tel, Thaddis Sabbah and finally Ustir. Then we jump through the Slipgate to Atlas and go Sojent-Ra to Fornax, then to Cuunbar, Castor, Gozan and then Beyu, Caspadence, Ghenna, Sarum, Aiowa to Kadiir, Landeen, Nithascal, Vinjim, Tediss and then back to Trecta!  
  
Look, I know it sounds bad, but that’s actually just twenty-four Hyperspace jumps! If we burn the sublight engines at full thrust in between jumps, skip over unsurveyed planets and ignore anomalies, that’ll put us back home TEN MONTHS from now instead of the twelve I predicted earlier. All told, we’ll have been away from Partoga for two years, ten months total. Absolutely no one will expect us back this early. I’m starting to think Captain Rangi was right about his “element of surprise” argument. 

Aside from that, my Muse has been spending a lot of time listening in on the homeworld and sending back a slow trickle of information. The Eater of Worlds has turned Manaaki into a powerful Psionic warrior in return for a steady supply of “food.” My Muse didn’t say what the Eater of Worlds wanted to… eat… and... I really don’t want to ask.   
  
In the meantime, Manaaki is putting his newfound powers to use. My Muse told me that Manaaki’s coup d’état hit a snag on day one. The Holy Father’s original plan had been to recruit the entire government to his cause and then overthrow Queen Phoebe quickly and without bloodshed. Instead, it sounds like several of his allies backed out at the last second, leaving the Queen with enough support to survive the takeover attempt. The two factions, Monarchists and Theocrats, then started openly fighting with what few weapons and troops they had. As my Muse put it: “the civil war revealed itself so suddenly no one was ready for it.”  
  
The overwhelming majority of the conflict back home has been a yearlong military buildup, as both sides prepare for the first real battle. The Partogan Royal Navy has been dragging its ships out of mothballs, (they haven’t been used in over a century) while the Partogan Royal Army calls up reservists and trains them from scratch. There are small skirmishes occasionally, but no large scale combat has taken place yet. It’s like that human game, chess. Both players are still doing their opening moves, getting their assets ready. While the military forces mobilize, small bouts of urban warfare are braking out in the major cities on Partoga between Monarchist and Theocratic factions within the civilian population. Candon, the Mangaia, Enzor, E-Ena, Kaitaia and Partoga City itself are all caught up in riots right now. Neither side has organized itself into anything substantial though.  
  
There’s one really big problem though. Actually, it’s a huge problem: Manaaki saw me in the Shroud. As soon as he woke up on the Homeworld, he put two and two together and figured out I made a covenant with a Shroud-Being. He’s Psionically shielded himself from any mental eavesdroppers, which means my Muse is completely blind to whatever Manaaki’s doing. Manaaki, on the other hand... oh crud.... I think he can see me. Look, I’ve only been back for a couple of days and I haven’t had a chance to look into the whole “Psionics” thing. I was planning to dismantle those Celestial Gauntlets to see how they work next week. Figuring out my own powers is really far down my to-do list.   
  
Since I don’t have a handle on my own “Gift” (Assuming Partogans can have it at all) My Muse told me that my mind is open and undefended; the Holy Father can use the Shroud as a conduit to slip into my mind and see and hear everything I do. It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever thought about. Everything.... He sees everything I do... oh, no. Oh damn...  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal Log Addendum January 9, 2202 – HMS Midak]_  
  
My family is alive! My Muse just told me! Papa left the palace and he’s gone to our cabin in the Visonian Highlands. My brother Tai and his daughter Maki are safe in Partoga City, under the protection of the Green Guard. I guess the Queen kept her promise.  
  
I asked how Queen Phoebe is doing again, and my Muse still couldn’t answer. They say she’s “very near Manaaki” and he’s still doing his best to avoid letting my Muse see what he’s up to.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: January 9, 2202 – HMS Midak]_  
  
The weapons delivery is tonight. Officially though, it isn’t. The whole transaction took place off the record and away from any prying cameras, eyes or ears. I can see the trucks already. Five big white trucks with the letters “UN” painted on the side are parked at the far end of the airport terminal. Human soldiers with blue helmets have been guarding them all day and have had to turn away a lot of curious civilians.   
  
Since not everyone aboard is aware of the nature of our mission, Captain Rangi has put out a notice to the crew that the Midak is taking on “sensitive” cargo. It’ll be guarded by one officer at a time working in five hour shifts and the Cargo Bay itself will be off-limits to anyone below the rank of Petty Officer. Hopefully our “shipment” from Earth will remain undisturbed the whole trip.  
  
_[Personal Log Closed]_  
_[Personal Log Addendum: January 11, 2202 – Nagasaki Airport]_  
  
Late last night, the Midak took delivery of 100 Gauss Rifles, 100 Laser Pistols, 50 Light Plasma Rifles, 50 Coilguns, 20 Laser Sniper Rifles, and one item called a “Helix Rail-Cannon”… whatever that is.   
  
We ordered the entire crew to stay away from the cargo bay for an hour and dropped the ramp. Waiting on the pavement below was a convoy of Japanese military trucks. One by one, we took delivery of fifteen heavy locked crates. I was the only civilian in the whole operation. We took all of the weapons caches into the cargo bay and secured each one with an electronic lock that only opens to the Captain’s fingerprint. Once they were locked up, we attached a flyer to each cache that said:  
  
“Property of the Partogan Green Guard. Do not open without express permission from the Kuhina Nui of the Kingdom of Partoga”  
  
Then Rangi had us bury the Caches behind and just underneath a small mountain of other crates, packages, souvenirs, boxes, canisters, containers, and other items until we couldn’t see the weapons caches anymore. Then just to make absolutely certain the weapons wouldn’t be found by the rest of the crew, all ten of us lifted the spare Emergency Containment cell by hand and moved it across the Cargo Bay and planted it down right next to the pile of junk. We put it in the most intrusive and inconvenient spot too, it’ll be a real pain to move.   
  
While the Captain and the officer corps were working out how to hide a bunch of weapons from their own crew, I spent the rest of the day running down a crew member who was hiding from me. I didn’t forget that Meto Kapua was spying on me during the first half of our trip. There wasn’t anything his friends could say or do to get me away from him this time. I caught him in the forward galley during the last meal of the day and cursed him out in front of half the crew!   
  
And… DAMN! That felt good!  
  
I don’t remember everything I said but I didn’t give Meto a second to talk back, and when I was done with him, I almost lost my voice. Now the entire ship knows that Meto is a creep who raided a woman’s belongings and he’s really suffering for it. I haven’t seen anyone talk to him outside of when he’s on duty in the Biology Lab and he’s always alone when he leaves the ship. I’m sure he’s made a Human friend or two, but what difference is that going to make in the long run? He’s a civilian, and I plan to keep him busy with scientific work the whole way home. As far as the “Crisis Back Home” is concerned, I feel safe writing off Meto as not being a concern anymore. I have my closure.  
  
_Sys/ automated backup engaged…successfully saved all data to external storage device._  
_[Personal Log Closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: January 13, 2202 – Omura City]_  
  
Four days left until we head for home. Kaia and I are walking around the market district of Omura, stocking up on provisions for the trip home. Say hi Kaia!   
  
**Hi people listening in the future! Japanese food is so great! Just look at this Bent-**  
  
Kaia, this is a microphone… not a camera. No one can see your Bento. Anyway, the Captain gave the whole science team and half of the enlisted crew two days of shore leave since the rest of the prelaunch checklist can be finished out by a few officers and Hyperpspace technicians. Kaia and I are grabbing as much fresh food as we can carry for the trip home. As much as I love Partogan food, the prepackaged stuff the Midak’s been carrying for the past couple years was starting to get stale. Kaia over there really likes the local seafood, but I just want a few dozen servings of tonkatsu. If I can get one or two of those a month for the rest of the trip I’ll feel like a Queen!  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: January 15, 2202 – Nagasaki Airport]_  
   
It’s frustrating. We just got here and now we have to leave. I really, really wanted to spend a few months, maybe even a full year exploring this planet. I don’t feel good about just ducking in for a quick peek and skirting back home again.  
   
**It’s just the circumstances, Mira. If the Captain really thinks we need to go, then we need to go. Don’t worry. We know where Earth is now and you can just come back on the next ship.**  
  
Yeah, the next ship... sure.  
   
**Hey, aren’t we giving Voyager One back to the UN tonight? You might wanna grab a pair of gloves before we go!**  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: January 16, 2202 – Nagasaki Airport]_  
   
Kaia’s not here, so I’ve got the whole room to myself for a minute...  
  
Well, what can I say? This is it. The leaders of Japan, XCOM, and the UN have seen us up the Midak’s ramp for the last time. The Voyager One probe is safely stored inside the airport hangar and its gold disks are on their way to a UN museum. The Midak has got all the supplies and cargo we need, including the diplomatic letter from the UN Secretary General addressed to Queen Phoebe. All sensitive items are locked away and all sixty members of the crew are accounted for. The course back to Partoga is laid in. If we don’t deviate for anomalies and burn the engines at flank speed the whole time, it’ll take ten months to get home.  
  
Ten months. A lot could happen in that time. There’s no point getting stressed out about it, though. I’m too far away to do anything. All I can do is get back into the science labs to kill time. We’ve got a bunch of “post-Earth” experiments to run, plus in the afternoon I have scheduled workshop time with Moana Ranginui.  
  
We’re actually building something in there. This morning, before the Midak’s ramp was sealed, Moana dashed out to XCOM Headquarters on the far side of the airport and got ahold of all their records about Psionics research. We flipped through pages and pages until we found what I was looking for: design schematics for the Psi Lab found on XCOM’s flagship, the Avenger. Captain Rangi gave Moana and I the green light to tear down Workshop One and rebuild it into a Psi Lab. Moana and I are going to use it to figure out whether I really have “the Gift” Akira and her Templars were telling me about. Psionics would give us one hell of an edge against Manaaki when the time comes.  
  
Other than that, there’s one thing still bothering me: Captain Rangi has banned all civilians including myself from Deck Four in its entirety. One whole quarter of the ship is off-limits now and it’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard! None of us ever went to the Hyperspace Module or the Power Plant that often and we don’t mind in the slightest that we’re not allowed there anymore. I know exactly why the Cargo Bay is off limits and I think the Captain’s in the right on that one. But the **LOUNGE?!** Really?! We’re really banned from the Crew Lounge?! I’ve gotta live in this pressurized can for another year and I really needed that those afternoon naps on that squishy couch! It’s the most idiotic thing I’ve heard in a long time and I’m not standing for it. Once the Midak heads into orbit and everyone gets their space-legs back, I’m going to have some serious words with the Captain!  
  
So you can understand what I’m dealing with, I’ll add a little map of the Midak’s interior so you can see what parts of the ship I’m banned from.  
_  
Midak_interior_layout file uploaded_

___ _

_Sys/ automated backup engaged…successfully saved all data to external storage device._  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: 17 Hanuere 687, Inner Sol System]_  
  
Well here we are. Back in space. I thought I’d feel worse leaving Earth behind and going back home, but I guess something about going back into the void got me out of my funk. I just feel... okay I guess. Let’s see... The launch went well. Two XCOM warships followed us all the way up into orbit and gave us a flyby salute before sending us on our way. Captain Rangi made a big show of thanking me for making this mission possible in front of all the officers, gave a quick speech about maintaining our “professionalism” on the way home, and then it was back to business as usual.  
  
Or as close to usual as I can get, I guess. The military crew is unusually busy. Since I got back down to the science labs, I’ve watched nearly every member of the military crew go down to Deck Four and come back up again. Anahara, Kaia, and Meto all say they can hear heavy machinery being used on the deck below us, but it’s anyone’s guess as to what’s actually happening down there.  
  
Of course, it’s anyone’s guess but mine. My Muse only had to probe around down there for a minute or so and I had the answer. Remember all those guns the humans gave us before we left Earth? Turns out, they didn’t give us any ammunition. Anika Aranui and half a dozen others are down there turning Deck Four into a munitions factory! They’re making bullets down there!  
  
I guess Captain Rangi wants to give the Theocrats more than a bloody nose when we get home.  
  
_[Personal log closed]_  
_[Personal log addendum: 17 Hanuere 687, Inner Sol System]_

Okay, something’s happening. About an hour after my last log entry, the Midak banked to port really hard and started decelerating. When I called the bridge to ask the Captain what happened, he denied the ship turned at all and then hung up on me! Look, I charted the course we’re supposed to be taking. I KNOW when the ship isn’t pointing towards a Hyperlane.   
  
It got really weird just a few minutes ago, though. Even here in the Engineering lab, I could feel the engines cut out, the ship turning to re-orient itself and then... Well, I think we hit something. The whole ship lurched like something bumped into the underside of the hull below Deck Four. Anahera, Kaia, and Meto all agree with me that it felt a little like the standard ship-to-ship docking we all did in Basic Training.  
  
But... the Midak doesn’t have a docking port on its ventral side.... there’s no airlock anywhere on Deck Four either.  
  
We were still talking about that when the Midak suddenly re-oriented to face the Sol-Tau Centauri Hyperlane and accelerated to Flank Speed.  
  
And the whole time, the Captain wouldn’t talk with us. Commander Aranui denied the Midak performed any maneuvers when we asked her.   
  
I don’t get it...  
___  
_ _Sys/ automated backup engaged…successfully saved all data to external storage device._  
_[Personal log closed]_

____ _ _


	20. The Bushranger

  _[Personal Log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMS Midak, Outer Thaddis Sabbah Star System, 29 Paenga-whāwhā, 687]_

  _Sys/ automated backup engaged…successfully saved all data to external storage device_

Wow, I haven’t used this thing in a long time. If anyone in the future gets this far into my logs, let me get you caught up: It’s been just over four months since we left Earth and started racing back to Partoga and since then, the tension aboard the ship has been so... what’s the word? Palpable. Everyone’s on edge. And there’s no question about why. Somehow, some way, the word got out. Everyone knows about the crisis that secretly drove the Midak’s mission and they’re making their own preparations for the inevitable outcome. 

In hindsight, I don’t really care that all of the civilians were banned from the crew lounge on Deck Four. At this point, everyone is too busy. Officially, we’re supposed to be debriefing after our month-long excursion on Earth and analyzing all of the samples we brought aboard. None of that happened. 

In all three laboratories, my science team is hard at work preparing for war. Anahera and the Biologists are looking for military applications for the Anaplague. Watahui and the Physicists are reconfiguring the Phased Disassembler Array for use against a hostile warship. And in the Engineering lab, Kaia and I are working to reinforce the Midak’s hull so we can survive a direct hit from an Ion Cannon Beam, which is a very real possibility going forward now. Thing is, I didn’t order anyone to do any of this. It just happened as the truth slowly seeped through the men and women of the Midak. 

The military crew started drilling for battle two weeks ago. Since the Midak itself is unarmed, Captain Rangi has been having us do “boarding action” drills; in which we try to repel a theoretical invader. Every fifty or sixty hours or so, the “tactical alert” lights and alarms go off and we all head to our action stations. From there, Captain Rangi drops the emergency bulkheads. When the bulkheads go down, all twenty-nine of the ships airtight compartments are completely sealed off from each other with (optimistically) at least two “combatants” locked inside, meaning anyone trying to take over the ship will have to shed blood for every last Bio of it. 

 If we are attacked it might not get that far. Captain Rangi has made it clear that if the Midak is attacked, he will first try to escape by engaging an “Emergency Hyperspace Jump.” This is the nightmare scenario we all trained for back at Space Camp in Candon two years ago. If an enemy ship makes a run at the Midak, the ship will IMMEDIATELY jump into Hyperspace and dash towards the nearest star system, regardless of how many people are outside of Radiation Shelters. If this happens while the crew is at action stations, I counted at least thirty-eight of us, including myself, who would be killed instantly by the deadly gamma radiation emitted by the Hyperspace Core. Still, killing sixty-three percent of the crew is preferable to the ship being captured by “the enemy.” 

The Captain, Moana, and I have been holding our tongues on who the “enemy” is. We still haven’t found the Theocrat’s spy and there’s a decent chance that he or she might try to sabotage our mission if they find out the Midak’s officer corps is entirely Monarchist. Moana and I are helping out the Captain’s investigation by pulling people aside for one-on-one interviews every few days or so, but no one’s offered up any useful information just yet. I’ve ruled out everyone in the Engine Room and all of the Hyperspace technicians, so that’s at least twelve out of fifty-nine people who won’t stab me in the back... I hope. I tried asking my Muse for help finding the spy, but they’re so focused on the much, much bigger threat back home right now and hardly ever talk to me outside of updates on Manaaki and his war. 

Meanwhile the Midak’s sublight engines have been burning so intensely that they’ll be at the end of their functional lifespan when we get home. Petty Officer Whawhakiterangi Tirikatane says that the engines have actually broken down a couple of times since we left Earth, but she’s working the Engine Room crew so hard that no one on the bridge had noticed the failures. And it’s important too. Every moment the Midak isn’t in Hyperspace, she’s achieving her maximum acceleration of two-hundred-eight Bios per second. Since we’ve been constantly accelerating for the past four months, we don’t really feel it anymore. Occasionally we get a little reminder when the Midak plows right into a micrometeoroid or some little bit of space debris. The sound of the impact is like a gun going off right next to your ear, and it’ll wake even the deepest sleeper. 

I’m not sleeping that much though. I’ve spent a lot of my downtime meditating: Ever since Moana and I finished building the Psi Lab where Workshop One used to be I’ve spent five hours a day there in deep meditation. After the first month, I had to swallow my own pride and admit I was wrong. As soon as I put on the Celestial Gauntlets for the first time and meditated, the Elerium conduits activated and the gauntlets powered up at once. According to my Muse, the Human database, and my own research into Human weaponry, these Gauntlets only activate when worn by a being with the “Gift.” Once I accepted that this Psionic stuff was real, Moana and I started training in earnest. She’s not Gifted, but she does have four years of pre-Midak experience in the Partogan Royal Navy. 

We’ve been practicing hand-to-hand combat using a pair of sparing gloves as a stand-in for the Celestial Gauntlets. Obviously I can’t beat a Non-Commissioned Officer in a fistfight, but I can hold my own against her for a minute or two. Moana keeps reminding me that Manaaki Ranginui is a much bigger and stronger fighter than her, and that he’ll have “a wide range of ‘kill Mira’ options to choose from.” Not exactly reassuring words. 

The problem is that no matter how hard I meditate or practice, I can’t get my Celestial Gauntlets to do anything other than light up and make crackling noises. I don’t know how to use or channel my powers. I know for certain I have the Gift, I just can’t figure out how to use it. Do I concentrate so hard my head hurts? Do I wave my hands in the air and trace shapes? Is there an incantation or a chant? Visualize something happening? I’m just at a complete loss right now as to how this works. 

I just wish Manaaki was at a similar loss. My Muse can’t get a good look at him or his mind because he’s still shielded, but the Holy Father’s actions and activities are still fair game and the Whisp- my Muse, is not disappointing. My Muse and I agree that the civil war back home is officially starting to get intense and it’s for one reason alone: Manaaki is starting to have trouble keeping the Eater of Worlds under control. Its hunger is finally starting to exceed his ability to satisfy it and it’s bleeding into all of the other fighters. For the moment, my Muse says the Eater of Worlds will turn any combatant under its influence into a much more bloodthirsty warrior, and obviously, making them more dangerous. 

On the Homeworld itself, the first real battle of the war has been fought: a huge mob of Theocrats stormed a Royal Army base outside the city of Akitio on the Levakian continent and Queen Phoebe (I think) dispatched General Irawaru Ruru, the Commander-in-Chief of the Partogan Royal Army, to break up the mob. When Ruru and his soldiers showed up on the scene, Ruru tore off his jade sash, renounced the Monarchist cause, and joined the mob. Nearly all of his soldiers went with him and those who didn’t were killed where they stood by the now heavily armed Theocrats. After the Akitio massacre, most of the Partogan Royal Army followed its leader in defecting to the Theocratic side. 

Meanwhile, the Partogan Royal Navy is still loyal to the Queen. Admiral Apanui and Commodore Korako got off-world and reached Fort Daxia before any Theocrats, seizing control of thirty out of thirty-one ships in the PRN and turning them over to the Monarchist side. I don’t know about the one ship that got away, but a lone Assault Frigate or Ion Cannon Frigate won’t prove to be much of a threat to the rest of the fleet. Heck, the Mothership Tantomile could just sweep it aside by herself. My Muse told me there was a serious skirmish at Fort Daxia itself and the PRN deserted the place afterward. Where the fleet went is also something of a mystery right now. 

Unfortunately, I can’t tell Captain Rangi any of this. My Muse warned me that he isn’t the type of person who would believe me if I claimed to be getting information from some supernatural source. He’s already uncomfortable with Moana and I building a Psi Lab. He only approved it because Moana took my side; he trusts her. 

_Sys/ automated backup engaged…successfully saved all data to external storage device_  

Now that you’re all caught up on what’s happened in the past few months let’s get down to the important things. First: Remember back when we left Earth? The Midak docked with something near the Earth’s moon? Well I think I figured out what it is, but I don’t have any physical evidence to back up my theory yet. For most of Maehe and Paenga-whāwhā I spent a lot of time quote “practicing walking meditation,” at least that’s what the military crew thought I was doing. I gave that excuse so that people would leave me alone. I was really pacing the length of Deck Three, peeking down through the trapdoors, hatchways, and ladders leading to Deck Four and the Engine Room. (The Midak doesn’t have any elevators, lifts, or staircases. It’s too small.) Every once in a while, I got little glimpses at the work the Military crew is doing down there. Obviously, I saw the crude workshops where they’re making ammunition for all of the shiny new firearms locked away down below. I also spotted a new lab crammed into the Crew Lounge where someone’s building shells for the Helix-Rail Cannon. The ammo factories aren’t what I was looking for though. 

I spotted a jury-rigged airlock hatch embedded in the floor of Radiation Shelter Three. I’ve seen it three times now. The materiel it’s made from suggests it was installed while we were on Earth, and more importantly, the airlock was open all three times I saw it. Whatever the Midak is docked with, it has a pressurized crew compartment. As well as seeing the airlock, I’ve noticed something going on in the Engine Room. When the sublight engines are running, the machines and the chambers around it will vibrate in a familiar way and make a continuous, easily recognizable sound. Neither of those things have been happening since we docked with the foreign ship. 

When I snuck a peek through the hatchway into the Engine Room, I saw both of the sublights practically shaking in their mounts and making terrible grinding noises. Walking around Deck Two above the engines, the vibrations in the floor feel like a heartbeat instead of the usual hum. Keeping all that in mind, I talked to Nikau about it and he thought the engines are under “some kind of strain.” A strain that could only be caused if the Midak was towing something more than half its size: Perhaps something like a Human warship. 

So all of this is circumstantial and conjecture; but it still points in that direction. A Corvette-class vessel being docked to the Midak would explain why the whole of Deck Four is closed off to civilians. We might have spotted it through the windows or something. It also could be the reason why the engines are struggling. 

Now that I know what’s latched to the Midak’s belly, it’s time to find out why it’s there. I guess the real reason is obvious: more firepower for Queen Phoebe’s side when we get home, but I’m absolutely certain Captain Rangi has something more specific in mind... 

_[Personal log closed]_

_[Personal log Addendum: 4 Haratua 687, Inner Sojent-Ra Star System]_  

_Sys/ automated backup engaged…successfully saved all data to external storage device_  

I’m back again, and I did a little more than find out what Rangi was planning. I got in on the ground level of it too. I went up to the bridge and asked to talk to Rangi alone yesterday. He said he’d come clean if I joined the project, so we struck a deal. As of today I’m now the only civilian allowed on Deck Four, and the only civilian who is part of this work. I’m lead scientist of the Midak, Astronavigator, Human history expert, and now technical advisor on the restoration project. That’s right! As if I didn’t have enough to do, there really is a Human Corvette docked to the Midak’s ventral section! 

But not just any ship though. It’s the HMAS Bushranger; a 166 year-old Battlemaster-class Corvette from, you guessed it, the Second Hyperspace War. The Bushranger was built and flown by a Human nation-state called Australia and was the immediate predecessor to the Ark Angel, the ship flown by Jericho herself. 

According to our Human database, the Battlemaster-class Corvette was the only type of warship used by Humankind during the war. They were operated by Earth’s most powerful nations and only fifteen were ever built:

  1. The PLANS Battlemaster
  2. The FGS Koenigreich
  3. The USS Old Glory
  4. The HMS Dreadnaught
  5. The JSDF Hinomaru
  6. The HHMS Kamehameha
  7. The FS Normandy
  8. The Stalingrad
  9. The USS Old Ironsides
  10. The JSDF Hyuuga
  11. The INS Crusader
  12. The Vladimir Lenin
  13. The IRIS Persepolis
  14. The HMAS Bushranger, and
  15. The JSDF Ark Angel



The database says that all fifteen ships were destroyed during the War in Heaven itself... but I know otherwise! So here’s what happened: While Moana and I were in Oregon, the Humans secretly agreed to give us the Bushranger, which at the time, was derelict in orbit of the Earth’s moon. They refused to give us any ammunition for the ship’s weapons though. That’s why the whole of Deck Four was turned into a munitions factory. The Military crew is trying to re-arm the Bushranger for its new mission. 

Captain Rangi won’t tell me what he’s planning to do with the Bushranger when we get home, but I’m pretty sure I know the plan already. I don’t need any database for this part, I remember it from grade school: Human warships were capable of both atmospheric and vacuum operations. None of the ships in the Partogan Royal Navy can operate inside a planet’s atmosphere, so Rangi’s going to use the Bushranger to attack the Theocrats on the surface. It’ll give our side a huge leg up over the enemy. 

The Bushranger itself is a long way off from being battle-ready though. I got my first look at her this morning. After drifting through space for a century and a half, the hull is pockmarked with micrometeoroid impacts and some scrapper has dismantled both the Bushranger’s Hyperspace Module and Power Plant. Lucky for us, the Battlemaster ships were built to run on simple nuclear fusion. The military crew has already started rebuilding the reactor. Meanwhile, my job is to translate all of the control panels and consoles into Partogan. I might know English, but the Bushranger needs a crew of fifteen. We can’t risk everyone dying from a mid-battle translation error. 

So far I’ve knocked out most of the cockpit and I’m working my way backwards through the ship from there. Curiously, I’ve learned that the Bushranger is much more heavily armed than Partogan Corvettes. It has four mass driver turrets AND twelve missile pylons, six under each wing. I’m almost certain those missiles had nuclear payloads. I’m almost scared to say this, but a fully armed Bushranger might even be able to go toe to toe with the Tantomile and survive. It’s a powerful little ship. I’d be terrified if a dozen of these things came at me. 

Hopefully, Manaaki Ranginui will be just as scared when the time comes for just one. 

_[Personal log closed]_  

__


	21. Distant Enemies

_[Personal Log: Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka, HMAS Bushranger, Outer Aiowa Star System, 11 Pipiri, 687]_

_Sys/ automated backup engaged…successfully saved all data to external storage device_

Two log entries in half a year? I’ve really let this thing go, haven’t I? I’m sure some historian decades from now is going to curse my name for my negligence. Well it isn’t going to matter much soon anyway. We’ve just jumped into the Aiowa system; which is only a couple week’s flight from Nithascal, the old border; putting us only three or four months from home. Remember almost a year ago, when we first started picking up radio transmissions from Earth? Well now the Midak is starting to hear signals from home.

Since this is the second time we followed radio waves back to the source planet, Captain Rangi and I were able to pinpoint the Homeworld’s location down to the Bio in record time. We can even extrapolate our distance from Partoga by figuring out what time period each signal came from.

Right now, the radio signals reaching the Midak are from the Levakian Uprising, which was nearly two-hundred years ago. So that puts us about a hundred and forty lightyears from home. Just a few Hyperspace jumps, really.

In the meantime, our training and preparation has gotten that much more intense. The military crew members are wearing battle gear whenever they’re on duty now. Civilian access has been restricted to even more parts of the ship, too. The eighteen of us are now effectively quarantined on Deck Three. I can still go down below and work on the Bushranger, of course. And I do that a lot now, but not of my own violation anymore.

See, I’m unofficially a member of the Partogan Royal Navy now. Captain Rangi “drafted” me last week and made me a member of the Bushranger’s crew. So now during my freetime, instead of hanging out with Kaia, I go down to Deck Four and help arm the Bushranger and do combat drills with the rest of the crew.

Aside from myself, fourteen members of the Military Crew were chosen to become Bushranger crew:

  * Commander Anika Aranui is now the Captain of the Bushranger. She sits in the cockpit’s middle seat.
  * Corporal Kauri Wiki is in the left-hand pilot seat.
  * Petty Officer Epi Eketone is the right-hand pilot.
  * Corporals Kori Hei and Ahu Ata are manning the radiating sensors.
  * Corporals Olo Tuterangi and Hinemoa Maioha, Private Nia Tawhiti and I are going to be weapons controllers. We each have a workstation in the forward fuselage where we operate the turrets by remote control.
  * Corporal Kupe Wihongi, Private Taka Rangihau, Corporal Kori Rangihau, Lieutenant Ari Kopunui, and Chief Petty Officer Whetu Karawana are on the Damage Control Team. They’ll move around the ship and try to fix anything that breaks during a fight.



So about my job as a weapons controller: The Bushranger has four Mass Driver turrets, two on the dorsal side and two on the ventral side. I’m responsible for the tail gun on the underside of the ship. The turret itself can swivel one-hundred-eighty degrees from left to right and ninety degrees up-down. The turret’s mobility is a good trade-off for the downside it comes with: limited ammunition. All four guns have their own stockpile of ammo to draw from, but it won’t be possible to transfer ammunition from one gun to another in the heat of a fight. I’ll only have one hundred-ten armor piercing rounds and seventy-five high explosive shells to work with. Same goes for the other three guns. Hopefully that’s all we’ll need to put down any Theocrats who try to keep resisting after we show up.

And if Manaaki Ranginui does try to keep fighting… well we have a backup plan ready for him. Just like I first thought, the Bushranger and her sister ships were delivery platforms for nuclear destruction. It took us the better part of a month and a little extra quality time with the Phased Disassembler Array, but teams working round the clock in the Midak’s Foundry were finally able to manufacture some nuclear explosives.

Mounted on the tips of crude contraptions that just barely qualify as “missiles” the Bushranger now has the ability to inflict over twenty Megatons of explosive power with the push of a button. Obviously, that button is nowhere near me. It’s Aranui who has launch authority.

Anyway. That’s what’s been happening.

_[Personal log closed]_

_[Personal log addendum: Outer Aiowa Star System, 12 Pipiri, 687]_

Okay, I lied yesterday. There’s something else. A reason I haven’t been making logs like usual… Manaaki’s started getting into my head.

It started a month ago, almost right after we did the Ustir-Atlas Slipgate. It… its almost like I’ve come into his striking range or something. Every night when I go to sleep I dream he’s right there, standing next to my bunk and waiting for me. Every. Damn. Night.

Anyway, it’s been getting really bad the past week or so. Usually he’d just stare at me... But four, maybe five days ago? I forget. Anyway, he’s started putting his hands on my head… and he squeezes me. It hurts so bad, when I wake up I’m in real pain! Like Manaaki actually put a vice on my skull or something. I don’t know what he was trying to do, and I don’t know how to stop it.

_[Personal log closed]_

_[Personal log addendum: Outer Aiowa Star System, 13 Pipiri, 687]_

I’m too scared to sleep.

Just like the Celestial Gauntlets do for me, the Eater of Worlds is amplifying Manaaki’s power; and he’s using it now. I can’t think. I can’t focus. I can’t even hear the Whisperers in the Void right now. Every time I close my eyes he’s right in front of me, reaching out like he’s gonna grab me!

I can’t stay in the Crew Quarters tonight. I’m going somewhere else.

_[Personal log closed]_

_[Personal log addendum: Inner Kadiir Nebula, 14 Pipiri, 687]_

I slept in one of the Psi Lab’s isolation cells last night. Best decision of my life. I don’t know what it is about this place, but Manaaki didn’t show up last night. I’m getting a little bit of my focus back, I’m rested and I just feel better.

You know what? New plan! An hour of meditation in here before bed each night. Let’s see if I can shut Manaaki out of my mind like he does me. I’ve got this!

_[Personal log closed]_

_[BRIDGE VOICE RECORDING: 28:33 HOURS, 14 PIPIRI, 687]_

_Captain Toa Rangi:_ You’re relieved, Lieutenant. I’m clocking in early today.

 _Lieutenant Commander Tai Tunui:_ Thanks, Sir. The ship is yours.

 _Captain Toa Rangi:_ Anything to report, Wihongi?

 _Petty Officer Meto Wihongi:_ The Bushranger’s engines passed their check-fire tests smoothly. We’re about twenty hours away from the Hyperlane to Landeen, and we’ve started to hear radio signals from the Second Hyperspace War Era.

 _Captain Toa Rangi:_ Anything specific?

 _Petty Officer Meto Wihongi:_ Mostly status reports relating to the Sieges of the Nanjim Star Cluster. We’re also picking up the echoes of a joint Osyrian/Hiigaran fleet that passed nearby in 519.

 _Captain Toa Rangi:_ What about… the other receiver?

 _Petty Officer Meto Wihongi:_ The signal was acquired about five hours ago.

 _Captain Toa Rangi:_ Good. Cycle people into and out of that room at the top of each hour. Make sure there’s at least one person listening at all times. Keep it quiet.

 _Petty Officer Meto Wihongi:_ Very good, Sir.

 _Captain Toa Rangi:_ Dismissed. Alright. Anyone else on the Bridge have a status update for me?

 _ Corporal Atu Aha:_ Sir, there’s a minor power fluctuation in the Comms Tower.

 _Captain Toa Rangi:_ Call them up and ask if they’re running any tests. And while you’re at it, tell them-

 _Petty Officer Moana Ranginui:_ Psi Lab calling Bridge! Emergency!

 _Captain Toa Rangi:_ Last calling station, report!

 _Petty Officer Moana Ranginui:_ Send a medic to the Psi Lab! Its Mihaka! She-

 _Mission Specialist Mira Mihaka:_ _*screams*_

 _Captain Toa Rangi:_ By the Mountain… Stay where you are, Ranginui! I’m sending someone down to you right now!

_[RECORDING MANUALLY STOPPED]_

_[Personal log addendum: Inner Kadiir Nebula: 01:16 hours, 15 Pipiri, 687]_

I barely feel like writing right now. I feel... terrible. I did like I said I would: Meditated for an hour, slept in the isolation cell, closed my mind.... but he showed up again.... and that… that THING… was with him this time. You don’t even... you can’t even know.

I can’t talk. I just wanna rest.

_[Personal log closed]_

_[Personal log addendum: Inner Kadiir Nebula: 01:30 hours, 15 Pipiri, 687]_

I didn’t tell Meto about seeing Manaaki and the Eater of Worlds. He never would have believed me anyway. I think I know what happened, anyway:

Manaaki is trying to look at my memories.

I don’t know how he’s projecting a Psionic attack to me from a hundred light-years away, but he’s doing it. Every time his “spectral avatar” (I can’t think of a better name for it) grabs my head, it forces me to remember something. He’s been looking at conversations for the most part, but I know he’s seen both of my trips into the Shroud, and for some reason, he keeps forcing me to remember stuff from childhood. A lot of stuff from back then.

I can’t figure it out, but he keeps looking through all the memories I have of living in the Royal Palace. All of my classes, every time I snuck out with Haki, every time I talked with Mama.

Last night, though. He tried to make me watch Mama die again. I said “no” and… and I tried to fight him. I really tried to make Manaaki stop, tried to force him out of my mind. I fought as hard as I could, I fought so hard that I thrashed around in my bed like a fish on land. Moana woke me up, which made Manaaki go away.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, though. My head hurt so much when I woke up, I felt like someone had been smashing my skull with a metal pipe or something. It hurt so much I started screaming and crying. It’s been a day now, and my head still hurts really badly, even though Meto and Tamaho have pumped me full of painkillers.

I don’t know what I’m going to do tonight. If Manaaki and the Eater of Worlds come for me again, there’s no way I can fight back. Maybe I’ll ask Tamaho to put me in a coma for the rest of the trip.

Wait. No. What if Manaaki attacked me then? I’d be stuck. That’s a dumb idea. Maybe I’ll just stay awake forever?

Again. Dumb idea.

_[Personal log closed]_

_[Personal log addendum: Inner Kadiir Nebula: 02:05 hours, 15 Pipiri, 687,]_

Kaia, Moana, and the Captain all came to visit me a few minutes ago, which is nice. Almost made me forget about this killer headache Manaaki left me with. I still haven’t left the Infirmary because Meto (the purse-snatcher) thinks it’s weird that my head still hurts twenty hours after Manaaki attacked me. He wants to keep me on painkillers until all of my pain receptors actually stop firing. Know what?! Why don’t I force my way into your mind, Meto?! Probe around and sort through your memories without your permission?! Then you’ll know how much this freakin’ hurts!

Uhg, anyway, best the Whisperers and I can figure out, what happened was that Manaaki tried to break into my mind as soon as I fell asleep. He couldn’t get through my “defenses,” so he withdrew and came back in the middle of the night with the Eater of Worlds. It did the mental/Psionic equivalent of knocking down the front door with a battering ram. They broke all the way into my mind. Manaaki was searching through my memories just like how a certain burglar named Meto Kapua went through my bags.

I know I was in the Psi Lab with Moana, and dreaming the whole thing... but it felt so real! IT WAS REAL! I saw Manaaki and the Eater. I felt them... their hands on my skull, and I thought... I was... over and over... and over... in my chest... and...oh, my head… huhu... OhI’mgonnapuke-

…

I’m okay now. My head feels like it’s gonna split open, though. I’m... I’m gonna drink some water. Take a break. Don’t sleep, Mira. Don’t sleep.

_[Personal log closed]_

_[Personal log addendum: Inner Kadiir Nebula: 04:50 hours, 15 Pipiri, 687]_

That’s so sweet! Tai Whiu just came to visit me! I barely know the guy and I can count the number of times I’ve talked to him on one hand, so it really means something that he’d drop by. He asked how I was feeling and if he could get me anything.

I was actually fine and didn’t need anything, but he was really insistent. “I wanna help” he kept saying. Well, now you can’t say I let generosity go to waste. I asked him to bring me the external storage drive for my tablet. That thing is just too far away, so my tablet can’t remotely back up the files right now. He should be back soon.

I actually feel a little better this afternoon. Sadly just not well enough to leave the infirmary. My head is still throbbing and Meto says my brain still comes back as “swollen” on all of his scans. He’s over there making plans to move me into a Radiation Shelter if I don’t get well before the next Hyperspace Jump.

Screw that. Ever done a Hyperspace Jump with a headache? I’m gonna call the Captain and tell him to stop the ship just before the Hyperlane. Oh! Tai’s back.

_[Log paused]_

_Sys/ automated backup engaged…successfully saved all data to external storage device_

_[Log resumed]_

Tai, when I tell you, repeat what you told me into the microphone, okay?

**Okay. Now? Uh, so when I passed through the Foundry on the way to your quarters, I noticed a noise that I’d never heard before-**

Foundry? So you were right under the secret chamber behind the Bridge then?

**Mira, you know I can’t tell you what’s in there. It’s classified PRN stuff, you know.**

Rats. Worth a try. Okay, keep going.

**Anyway, poked around the Foundry looking for the source for a minute when I realized I was hearing it through the wall. Someone was playing some kind of audio really loudly in the Radiation Shelter next door.**

Next to the Foundry, that’s Shelter Number One! Where the Captain goes during Jumps!

**That’s right. I’ve never heard noises like that coming from there though, so I broke out my tablet and made a recording for you, since I knew that’s the kind of thing you’re interested in.**

Thanks Tai. You’ve been way more helpful than I was expecting.

**Uh, yeah. You ever need a helping man- uh, hand! Yeah. I’ll go now.**

Really? Did he just- nevermind. Let’s have a listen to Tai’s recording. Computer, play last audio log created by Corporal Tai Whiu.

_Cmd usr/ Play selected media_

_Sys/ Playing media..._

> _[Personal Log: Corporal Tai Whiu, HMS Midak, Outer Kadiir Nebula, 15 Pipiri 687]_
> 
> **Seven hundred thirty five... ... ... ...Seven hundred twenty... ... Seven hundred-five... ... ...Six hundred ninety... ... ... ... Six hundred seventy-five... ... ... ... ... Six hundred sixty... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...**
> 
> **_Okay. It stopped. I have no idea what that is or what it’s supposed to do. There’s nothing on the ship which reads numbers aloud like that. Mira, you’re the head scientist here. I hope you can figure it out. Hell, I know you can._ **
> 
> _[Personal log (Tai Whiu) closed]_

_Sys/ Operation complete_

Well, it’s nice to know how much faith Tai places in my work. Numbers, though. What’s that all about? Well, it looks like Meto’s gone somewhere, which means I have the Infirmary to myself for a few minutes. Let’s ask my Muse... ... ... ... ... ... ...

That wasn’t helpful. The Whisperers in the Void said I “already have that knowledge” and then they went back to observing Manaaki. How do I already know about the numbers? Did I miss something? I need something to jog my memory. Or someone. I got it! Hang on, gotta make a call.

_[Log paused]_

_[Log resumed]_

It’s just you, Kaia?

**Yeah. Moana’s busy up in the Psi Lab and Tai is helping Commander Aranui get ready for the jump to Landeen. What did you need?**

Do you still know about those conspiracy theories about the “Shadow State” and all that junk?

**Do I?! I thought you’d never ask! How much “truth” can I get you today?**

Uhg. Kaia, I’m not converting to your way of thinking. I just need to know if any of those theories involve secret number codes.

**Mira you can-... actually. Yes. There is one. When your mom was Queen, did you ever hear her talk about “The Numbers Station”?**

No. And I’m going to head you off at the pass and add: “No such thing ever existed. Whoever thought it up is a crackpot who really needs to stop smoking so much Harakeke.” Just tell me the “theory.”

**First off Mira, Harakeke will be legal in a few years and you need to try it. And as for the proven facts you call a “Theory”: During the Second Hyperspace War, Queen Miranda the Second set up a top-secret military radio network that would allow Partogan Navy ships to communicate with each other in code. The center of that network was the Numbers Station. Every ten hours, it would broadcast a bunch of numbers to every ship in the fleet; and each officer in the PRN has a codebook which tells him or her what the numbers mean. That way, the Queen can hand out secret orders, missions, and directives to anyone in the fleet. That’s the story of the Numbers Station.**

Kaia, there’s one big problem with that idea: Space is huge, and the Galactic Front Line was over eighty-eight thousand lightyears long. Any radio signals sent from Partoga would have taken centuries to reach ships on the front.

**Ah-ah-ah. You’re forgetting Mira. The Royal Government got Faster-Than-Light communication technology from the ADVENT Coalition in 505.**

No. No. No we didn’t. Come on, Kaia. That was wartime propaganda to make the ADVENT Coalition appear competent. They fell apart as soon as Earth rebelled, didn’t they? Faster-Than-Light communications, it’s ridiculous!

**I’ll get you to see the truth someday. I wouldn’t be your friend otherwise. Anyway. Why were you asking about the Numbers Station at all?**

Computer, re-play the previous audio.

_Cmd usr/ Play selected media_

_Sys/ Playing media..._

> _[Personal Log: Corporal Tai Whiu, HMS Midak, Outer Kadiir Nebula, 15 Pipiri 687]_
> 
> **Seven hundred thirty five... ... ... ...Seven hundred twenty... ... Seven hundred-five... ... ...Six hundred ninety... ... ... ... Six hundred seventy-five... ... ... ... ... Six hundred sixty-**
> 
> _Cmd usr/ Stop_
> 
> _Sys/ Media stopped_
> 
> _[Personal log (Tai Whiu) closed]_

_Sys/ Operation complete_

Someone’s been hearing numbers in certain parts of the ship. I was hoping you might give me a crazy idea to get me thinking.

**Huh. Did I?**

Maybe. Out here in space, a kooky Harakeke-fueled conspiracy is a better place to start than absolutely nowhere.

**Don’t knock the plant until you’ve smoked a leaf or two. Look, Mira. I’ve gotta go. We’ve got a Hyperspace jump in an hour. I hope I helped! Bye!**

_*Sigh*_ I really doubt it’s a number’s station. At least it’ll give me something to think about.

_[Personal log closed]_

_[Personal log addendum: Outer Kadiir Nebula: 06:30 hours, 15 Pipiri, 687]_

Meto still won’t let me leave the Infirmary because my head is still pounding like someone hit it with a hammer. So now I have to do a Hyperspace Jump with him and his buddies. Get this, he’s actually having two of his friends, Rawiri and Watahui carry me on a stretcher into the Shelter for the jump to Landeen! And as if that wasn’t bad enough: I’m going to be tied to the stretcher with straps “for my own safety.” What. The. Hell?!

He really thinks I can’t be trusted to walk on my own or something! That I have to be restrained in a damn Radiation Shelter! Damnit, those shelters are claustrophobic enough without being strapped to a flat board for the whole jump. I’m definitely complaining to the Captain about this afterward. Meto’s gone way too far this time!

I’ll write again after the Hyperspace Jump. Let’s just get this over with....

_Sys/ automated backup engaged…successfully saved all data to external storage device_

_[Personal log closed]_

_Sys/ Hyperspace Jump initiated._

_EMERGENCY ALERT! HYPERDRIVE MALFUNCTION. THE QUANTUM WAVEFRONT IS COLLAPSING. SAFETY INTERRUPT ENGAGED._

_STANDBY FOR IMMEDIATE RETURN TO NORMAL SPACE._

__


	22. The Green Guard

Pitch Darkness. The acrid smell of an electrical fire. Echoes of distant screams, alarms, and gunfire. The light pressure of metal against flesh. The taste of her own blood.

Slowly at first, then with rapidly increasing alertness, Mira regained consciousness. The throbbing pain in the back of her head was a secondary issue compared to her more immediate problem: She was still strapped to a medical stretcher, arms and legs bound uselessly to the plastic board. She was also upside-down, her face pressing into the hard metal floor of the Radiation Shelter. Mira struggled to move, the stretcher making clattering noises each time it hit the floor or the wall. She knew Meto, Watahui and Rawiri had gone into the shelter with her. Where were they?

“Help!” Mira cried, “Get me out of here! One of you? Please!”

Then, Mira felt an irresistible force seize her stretcher and flip it over. Landing roughly on her back, Mira saw that Watahui Wiki was the only person in the shelter with her. Everyone else was gone, and all four doors were open wide. The trapdoor leading down to the Crew Quarters on Deck Three was obscured by opaque smoke rising up through the little hatchway. Watahui, meanwhile, was fumbling with something in his satchel bag.

“Hey,” Mira said up to Watahui, “I think something’s gone wrong with the Hyperspace Module. Cut me out of this thing and let’s get the rest of the team down there.”

Watahui paused and looked up at Mira’s face, giving her a look she didn’t understand. Mira (who still hadn’t realized what that distant popping sound was) tried again,

“What’s the problem?” She said, “Get me off this thing already! We’ve gotta go!”

Watahui’s face fell,

“I was hoping you wouldn’t wake up.” He said mournfully,

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Mira was starting to lose patience with her fellow scientist. But her question was answered as Watahui found what he was looking for and began to withdraw it from the bag tied to his waist. Mira’s frustration and confusion turned instantly into fear and panic as Watahui put both hands on a silver Gauss Pistol and chambered a round.

The weapon made a bone-chilling noise as Mira screamed,

“WHAT THE HELL!? WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT?!”

Watahui didn’t answer, he knelt down next to Mira and pointed the barrel of the Gauss Pistol at Mira’s face.

Unimaginable terror coursed through Mira’s body and mind. She began to struggle even harder, flailing and straining against her restraints. Watahui pressed the cold barrel of his firearm against Mira’s forehead just above her left eye and put his finger inside the trigger guard. Mira opened her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs!

_WHAM!_

A young woman with brown skin and short grey hair stormed into the shelter and tackled Watahui clear off his feet! Mira let out a noise of desperation and gratitude as Moana Ranginui put both of her hands around Watahui’s wrists, wrenching the Gauss Pistol out of his hands where it clattered to the floor.

Watahui (who was nearly sixty pounds heavier than Moana) broke free of her grip, pulled one fist back, and punched Moana in the stomach with so much strength that she doubled over and fell to her knees. Mira frantically began straining against the plastic straps that kept her bound to the stretcher, while Watahui scrambled to grab his fallen firearm. Moana launched herself at him from the floor! Four hands scrabbled desperately at the little weapon it let out a loud CRACK! Mira almost felt the hypersonic projectile passing a mere inch above her face and she heard it smack into the shelter wall with a high-pitched _plink!_ Moana got one of her legs free from the scuffle and kicked Watahui in the groin. Her opponent immediately curled up defensively and she tried one more time to pull the Gauss Pistol away from his hands with both of hers.

The weapon fired a second time!

The second gunshot was accompanied by a dull _thunk._ Someone’s blood flew all the way up to the ceiling and splattered there. Then, with much yelling and grunting, both combatants wrestled and rolled out of Mira’s line of sight. Both Moana and Watahui let out barbaric, near-animalistic yells and unleashed even more violence upon one another which Mira couldn’t see. But from her position on the floor, Mira felt the sickening thumps as one combatant grabbed the other and began to repeatedly smash their enemy’s whole head into the metal floor! One! Two! Three times the back of somebody’s head connected with the floor violently! Then the fight was over, and there was silence, only broken by heavy breathing.

If Watahui had overpowered Moana, Mira knew she was going to die horribly just a few seconds from now. Filled with desperation, Mira cried aloud,

“NO! STOP! PLEASE STOP!!”

The pointed brown face, grey hair, and purple eyes of Moana Ranginui appeared above Mira.

“Relax,” Said Moana, “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Moana pulled a combat knife from her utility belt and cut the straps binding Mira to the stretcher. Mira sat up and frantically looked around for Watahui. She saw him lying about an arms’ length away. He was spread eagled on his back, unconscious, with blood oozing from a wound on the back on his head. Watahui was still breathing, his chest rising and falling to the sound of ragged wheezes. There was also blood on the front of his shirt and his hands. Mira felt Moana’s hand (also covered in blood) on her shoulder and looked around.

“You okay?” Moana asked, her normally gruff and tomboyish voice now strained, “I got here as quick as I could.”

“I’m fine,” Mira began, “at least I think I am, what the heck is happen- Mother of Miranda! YOU’VE BEEN SHOT!!”

They both looked down. Moana’s hand had been applying pressure to a bloody wound on her lower abdomen this whole time. When she lifted her hand away, Mira saw a hole in Moana’s flight suit just above the waistline near her stomach. A wet, red stain was growing around the injury with terrible speed.

Once Mira noticed the injury, Moana let go of her friend and stood upright; she was trying to show Mira that she was fine, but the action was also partly to test herself. Moana put her free hand out and steadied herself against the wall. After a moment, Moana fell backwards and her backside pressed against the wall. When she stepped into the middle of the shelter, Moana left behind a big smear of dark red blood on the wall and the back of her flight suit.

“Y-Yuh...Yeah,” Moana groaned, “The bastard shot me. That’s not important right now. Listen: There’s at least two m-... two more of them loose on the ship, maybe three, and it sounds-... they’re all armed. We have to get somewhere safe.”

Finally, as she stood and offered her shoulder for Moana to lean on, Mira heard and recognized the sound of gunfire coming from elsewhere in the ship. Moana put her left foot out and tried to lead Mira out of the shelter.

“We’re g-going to the Bushranger.” gasped Moana, “We can’t let th...them get to it.”

“Hell no.” Mira was surprised she could use a commanding voice right now, “The Bushranger is two decks down from here. You’ll bleed to death before we get there.”

Mira pulled defiantly at her friend and pointed with her free hand towards the hatch behind her.

“The infirmary is right there!” Mira said, “Let’s stop the bleeding, then think about fighting.”

“I’m fine,” Moana tried to raise her voice, unaware of how quickly her strength was draining. She tried to walk towards the trap door which led to the lower decks, but collapsed to her knees and put both hands to her wound, breathing heavily through her teeth.

Standing behind Moana, Mira saw that the high-velocity Gauss round had done far more damage to Moana’s body during its exit than its entry. The situation was far worse than Moana realized. Mira sprinted to the short distance to far side of the shelter and put her shoulder to the heavy door. On the other side was the Midak’s infirmary.

The infirmary had clearly been visited by the same disaster that had befallen the rest of the ship. Smoke was slowly pouring into the room via one of the ventilation ducts, none of the computers were working, and there was an ominously fresh bloodstain on the floor next to the hatchway leading down to the galley below. The only other door (Which lead to another Radiation Shelter) was on the far side of the room, while a trapdoor in the ceiling and a hatch in the floor lead to other parts of the ship. The ceiling and floor hatches were connected to each other with a metal ladder. Mira’s fear began to resurface as she realized the infirmary was empty.

“Hello!” Mira called out, “I need help! Meto? Ria? Tamaho?”

Mira pushed the door all the way open, darted into the infirmary and started to raid the cabinets and drawers, looking for medical dressing to use on Moana’s wound. It only took about thirty seconds for Mira to find and grab a Nanomedikit plus a few pads of gauze, she was about to run back into the shelter when a gurgled groan caught her ear. Mira looked around and dropped everything when she saw what had made the noise.

It was Tamaho Wihongi, one of the Midak’s three medics. Mira hadn’t spotted him on the way in because he’d been hidden behind the one and only surgical bed. Tamaho was lying on his side, which was splattered with an unreasonable amount of blood. His arms and legs were curled up as though he’d been trying to hide from someone.

“Tamaho!” Mira bent low, scooped up a roll of medical dressing and scrambled over to him,

“Hey, Tamaho! Look at me!” said Mira, “Where are you hurt? Show me! Come on, say something!”

Tamaho didn’t move. He didn’t say anything. His last breath continued to gurgle out of both his airway and the two gunshot wounds in his back.

A wave of emotions built up in Mira so quickly that her mind was momentarily overwhelmed. She was disgusted, frightened, outraged, infuriated, and exhausted all at once. She was suddenly called back into action when several people entered the infirmary all at the same time.

Above Mira’s head, the ceiling hatchway abruptly swung open, but instead of climbing down the ladder, Captain Rangi simply dropped down into the infirmary from the deck above. Before Mira could move or react in any way, Rangi had unstrapped a Light Plasma Rifle from his leg and aimed it at her head.

“Wait! Wait!” Mira shouted, “It’s me!”

At that same moment, Moana crawled on her hands and knees through the doorway and into the room. She looked up at the Captain from the floor and said in between deep breaths,

“Sir...why...aren’t you... on the bridge?!”

With a powerful _thump!_ A corpse slid and fell down the ladder, coming to rest at its feet. Ria Areaiiti, another Medic, came down the ladder next. While she slid down the ladder, Ria muttered to herself;

“No stairs. This damn ship doesn’t have any damn stairs! Damnit!!”

As Ria hit the floor, Commander Anika Aranui slid down the ladder behind her. She didn’t acknowledge anyone in the room. Instead, Anika drew a Stuttermag (a Laser Rifle shortened down to carbine-length) and took aim at the hatchway she had just dropped out of.

“We’re clear!” said Anika, using one hand to brush her silver dreadlocks out of her face.

Ria dropped the unconscious person to the ground and dashed over to Moana. Mira followed,

“What happened?” Ria asked as she applied medical dressing to Moana’s injuries and sprayed her with a Nanomedikit.

“Watahui shot her!” Mira said at once, causing both the Captain and his second-in-command to look at her.

“That makes three of them.” Said Anika, “Three confirmed hostiles.”

She turned to Mira.

“What happened to Watahui? Where is he now!?”

Moana yelled over Ria’s shoulder,

“He’s right on the other side of that door! I cracked his skull for you, ma’am!”

Anika chambered a round in her Stuttermag and then began stepping though the doorway into the Radiation Shelter. Mira grabbed her by the arm.

“Wait,” said Mira, “What did you mean when you said ‘hostiles’? Are you saying Watahui is one of Manaaki’s spies?”

“Not exactly.” Replied Anika. She pulled herself free of Mira’s grip and entered the shelter.

Watahui was still lying face up on the floor where Mira and Moana had left him. Mira wondered for a second why he hadn’t gotten up and run away before she realized Moana had almost certainly inflicted some kind of brain damage by smashing his head on the floor. Watahui’s eyes were open and they followed Mira and Anika around the room. Anika bent down and picked up the Gauss Pistol Watahui had tried to use against Mira. For a few seconds, Anika did and said nothing while Mira watched. Anika simply stared down at the pistol with an unfathomable expression on her face. She examined every inch of the weapon closely. In that moment of pause, the sounds of distant gunfire and smoke alarms permeated the room. From somewhere below, two decks down, a male voice cried out in pain.

Finally, right when Mira had started to relax a little, Anika looked over her shoulder and called through the door;

“You were right sir. It’s them.”

In the infirmary, Captain Rangi swore very loudly. Mira looked back at Anika.

“So he’s the spy we’ve been looking for?” she asked.

Anika sighed.

“He is a spy,” she admitted, “just not the one we were looking for. Same goes for his friends.”

Moving with the speed and dexterity of a true soldier, Anika pulled the Gauss Pistol apart until it was reduced to about two dozen odd pieces of metal in her hands. She dropped the weapon fragments onto Watahui’s torso. His eyes were now locked onto the Commander totally. She looked back at him and said;

“The gun gave you away.”

And then, moving too fast for Mira to even comprehend, let alone do anything to prevent it, Anika pulled out her Stuttermag, flipped off the safety switch, and fired three laser bolts into Watahui’s chest! His body jerked violently for a moment, causing Mira to jump with fright! Then Watahui became still. He was dead.

Mira was so stunned, so caught off guard by what just happened, that she didn’t move as Anika pushed past her and re-entered the infirmary. While Anika and the Captain began talking quietly, Mira bent down low and put a hand out to Watahui’s corpse. Everything was happening so fast, she couldn’t process what was going on. Had Watahui been a traitor this whole time? Why didn’t she know this was coming?

Concentrating with all her might, Mira tried to call the Whisperers in the Void to the front of her mind; but instead of the usual chorus of voices Mira was met with excruciating pain all along the back of her head. Clutching her head in both hands and falling to her knees, Mira remembered that this pain was nearly identical to how she had felt after being telepathically attacked by Manaaki mere hours ago. Blinking tears out of her eyes, Mira found herself looking at the pieces of metal that had once been a Gauss Pistol. She saw something that had escaped her notice up until now. Carved into the top of the iron sights was a small number of little Partogan letters. Mira picked up the gun barrel and squinted at the iron sights, trying to make out the tiny little letters:

“K...O...P...” Mira read aloud, “G...R...E...E...N...G...U...A...R...D. .... Oh, please no.”

The Green Guard were the most elite warriors in the entire Partogan military. They were professional killers, canny tacticians, relentless fighters, and most importantly: the only branch of the Partogan military not under the control of the Queen. These warriors answered only to the Patriarch of the Church of the Mountain, Manaaki Ranginui.

And Anika had just killed one of them.

Mira staggered back into the infirmary. The pain in her head had intensified since the Hyperspace jump, but she did her best to ignore it and she joined Anika’s conversation with Captain Rangi, Ria, and Moana (who was lying on her stomach on the surgical bed, looking down at Tamaho’s corpse)

“-he had no chance.” Ria was saying. “I’m sorry, sir.”

Captain Rangi shook his head.

“You did your best, soldier.” He consoled Ria. “They got the jump on us. It will not happen again.”

Mira pointed to the corpse Ria had dropped down the hatchway.

“Who is this?” she asked cautiously. The Captain quickly swooped down on the body and grabbed it by the shoulder.

“Thanks for reminding me, Mihaka,” said Rangi. He turned the body over.

It was Corporal Kauri Wiki, a member of the bridge crew. He’d been shot three times, once in the left shoulder and twice more in the head. Mira recoiled from the grizzly sight. Captain Rangi put his hand into Kauri’s collar and tugged. The dead soldier’s ID tag came free and Rangi stuffed it into his breast pocket. Then he turned to face Mira and Moana.

“The Green Guard is trying to take over the ship.” He began, “At least two of them just drove us off the bridge. Mihaka, tell me: who was in that shelter with you during the jump?”

Between the near-constant pain threatening to split her head open and her general confusion, Mira was just barely able to form a coherent answer;

“Meto Kapua,” she recited, “Watahui Wiki, and Rawiri Kopu.”

Anika cocked her head to the side and stepped closer to Mira.

“That doesn’t add up.” Anika said softly. “We just fought Meto on the bridge, but he was being helped by a _woman._ Who’s the _female_ Green Guard?”

Rangi stepped between Mira and Anika.

“We don’t have time to figure that out.” He said. “I managed to drop about half of all the emergency bulkheads on the ship before leaving the bridge, but Meto and his friends won’t take long to open them up again. We’ve got to take action.”

Ria pulled a Laser Pistol out of her waistband.

“What do you think he’s after, sir?” she asked,

Captain Rangi folded his arms.

“I don’t know.” He admitted. “They might be after the Bushranger, and it looks like they already got to the weapons in the Cargo Bay.”

“Hang on,” Mira interrupted, “Why would they go to the bridge then? The Bushranger is on Deck Four.”

The five of them didn’t have a chance to think over their answer. Clattering footsteps from the far door told them a group of people was coming their way fast!

“Take cover!” Rangi ordered,

Everyone ducked behind something solid. Moana rolled off the surgical table and hid partially underneath of it and partially behind Tamaho’s body. Rangi, Ria, and Anika all pointed their weapons at the doorway leading towards the other Radiation Shelter. Ria darted forward and slammed her fist against the metal door, making sure it was shut and locked. The footfalls on the other side stopped.

“Identify yourselves!” the Captain called out,

There was a pause, punctuated by the popping of gunfire somewhere on the deck below.

“Chief Petty Officer Whetu Karawana, Partogan Royal Navy!” Called the first voice,

“Corporal Olo Tuterangi, Partogan Royal Navy!” came the second,

“Lieutenant Ari Kopunui, Partogan Royal Navy!” said a third, and finally;

“Corporal Tai Whiu, Partogan Royal Navy!” said a familiar voice.

“Tai!” Mira gasped, and reflexively she stood up and made to open the door, but the Captain grabbed her.

“Don’t be a fool!” he said, “Anyone could be back there!”

“He’s right,” said Anika. Keeping her Stuttermag raised, she called out to the hatchway, “Karawana! Prove it’s really you! What did you do to the Engineering lab right after our mission started?”

Whetu’s voice came back though the door with a little hesitation and a hint of embarrassment,

“I blew it up, ma’am.”

Mira caught on quickly. Mentally pushing aside the intense pain in her head and bringing up the memory of a previous conversation with Tai, Mira called out;

“Corporal Whiu, who am I supposed to talk to?”

Pause.

“Um, not the wall.” Tai’s voice responded, “Like I said: good listener, but never has anything interesting to say.”

Mira turned to give Rangi a defiant look.

“That’s really him, sir.” She said.

Rangi nodded to Anika.

Anika (and everyone else except Mira and Moana) raised their weapons at the door and cried out:

“Long live the Queen!”

Simultaneously, the four Partogans on the other side of the door answered with:

“Long live the Queen!”

Anika opened the door.

Whetu, Olo, Ari, and Tai piled into the infirmary and slammed the door shut behind them. They were all armed with a variety of human weapons (Gauss, Laser, and Plasma rifles) Tai crossed the room in a few strides and gave Mira a big hug. Mira started to push him away but stopped when she felt Tai’s tears running down her shoulder. She put both hands around his shoulders and said,

“Don’t worry, you’re with friends, I’ve got you.”

Whetu pointed at Tai and said:

“Captain, he’s the only member of the Comms Tower crew still alive. The Green Guard just cleared Deck One room by room and now they’re on their way here.”

Anika’s jaw dropped.

“The only one?!” She repeated, “What about Poata and Rameka?”

“Dead.” Said Whetu. Then she turned back to Rangi.

“Sir,” she said, “One of the Green Guards have left the bridge and I saw them on Deck Three. If we’re gonna move, the time is now.”

Captain Rangi un-holstered a Plasma Pistol and pressed it into Mira’s hand.

“Time to fight!” he said, “Everyone on me! Anika! You have any left?”

Anika didn’t answer, she reached into her pouch and produced an item that was unmistakably a flashbang grenade. She pulled the pin, flipped the spoon away and tossed it up the ladder and into the room above them. _BANG!_

“Up the ladder!” Rangi yelled to his crewmates, “Go! Go!”

Anika went up the ladder first, her head and neck twisting and turning each way, looking for hostiles.

“Clear!”

One by one, everyone followed Anika up the ladder to Deck One. Moana brought up the rear. Her wound had been sealed and cauterized by the Nanomedikit, but it was a _very_ temporary fix that could be easily undone.

Mira pulled herself up through the hatch and found herself in the Midak’s Sensor Suite. Here in this hemispherical room dozens of computer banks and workstations lined the walls so that the crew could receive and interpret incoming sensor data. The room wasn’t in use, though. A wisp of smoke curled away from Anika’s flashbang grenade while a small electrical fire burned along a thick strand of cables inside hole in the wall nearby, marking the spot where a Laser Rifle bolt had made impact. Looking to her left (towards the bridge) Mira saw the Captain, Ria, and Anika trying to force the emergency bulkhead door. It had slid halfway into the “closed” position and stopped. On the other side of it was a sealed door that connected the Sensor Suite to the Midak’s bridge.

As soon as this sight met her eyes, the pain in Mira’s head suddenly intensified to a level she didn’t think was even possible! Dropping her Plasma Pistol and falling to her knees, Mira grabbed her scalp with both hands and rocked back and forth, wishing for the pain to stop.

“What the hell is wrong with her now?” asked Rangi, “Ranginui? Talk to me!”

Moana knelt down next to Mira.

“What is it?” she asked quietly,

“Manaaki!” Mira gasped between breaths, “He- he’s hurting me!”

Moana grabbed one of Mira’s hands and looked at it. She had the look of someone who’d just had an idea.

“Wait here!” said Moana. She got up and limped through the doorway leading away from the bridge.

Mira and Captain Rangi stared after her for a moment before Rangi said with frustration,

“I’m still in charge, right? I ordered an assault… _right!?_ ”

Tai, Ria, Whetu, and Olo all put their hands to the bulkhead door and started pushing on it with all their strength. Rangi grabbed Mira by the scruff of her neck and pulled her up.

“Get your head in the game, solider!” said the Captain, “Focus!”

As Rangi went back to help his comrades, Mira stooped to pick up her Plasma Pistol. _Focus._ She thought. _Focus._ Mira joined the others in pulling on the door. _Take the bridge._ Mira forced the thought to repeat in her mind over and over again. Those three words echoed about in her mindscape, and for a few seconds, Mira nearly forgot about the searing pain in her head that made her eyes water.

“Mira! I’ve got them!”

At the sound of Moana’s voice, Mira turned around and _stepped into a nightmare._

Manaaki Ranginui was standing an arm’s length away from Mira! The old, bald-headed man seemed taller, stronger, and more terrible than ever before. His robes, normally white with green trimming, were now stained with countless little blood spatters. Manaaki’s small purple eyes regarded Mira with a nightmarish gleam of deep satisfaction.

“I’ve got you.” He hissed.

He reached out with one bony hand and grabbed the front of Mira’s shirt. No! It wasn’t a shirt! The Whisperers in the Void were coiled around Mira’s chest, wrapped tightly around her! Shrieking like a million feral cats, the Whisperers in the Void resisted Manaaki as hard as they could, holding tight to Mira’s torso. She grabbed at Manaaki’s arms, only to withdraw as a powerful shock coursed up her limbs! Completely overpowered, the Whisperers in the Void were torn away from Mira, continuing to caterwaul and fight as Manaaki held them out at arm’s length.

With his other hand, Manaaki grabbed Mira’s face! The pain in her skull finally reached a level Mira couldn’t handle anymore! Screaming and writhing under Manaaki’s overpowering grasp, Mira’s mind began to crack! She was going to die! Right here! Right now! Killed by a Psionic attack launched from over a hundred lightyears away!

Mira reached out with her right hand, frantically trying to grab at any part of Manaaki she could reach! He tightened his grip, laughed triumphantly and said:

“You’re the perfect substitute for your mother. This feels just as good!”

Mira stopped screaming. She’d run out of air!

A cold metal object suddenly slipped over and completely covered Mira’s right hand. Manaaki’s mouth continued to move, but no words came out. A similar cold feeling befell Mira’s left hand. Manaaki suddenly seemed smaller and less opaque. What’s more, the pain in Mira’s head had been reduced just enough that she could think again.

Focus. Focus. Focus.

Get out. Get out! GET OUT!!

Manaaki was flying away! Getting smaller and smaller! The pain was fading!

“Mira! Wake up!”

Mira was lying face up on the floor of the Midak’s sensor suite. Moana had just slid the Celestial Gauntlets onto Mira’s hands. The Elerium conduits sizzled, popped, and crackled with raw energy. Everyone was looking at her. Ari, Ria, and Rangi all stared open-mouthed at the Gauntlets.

“What are those things?” Ria gasped,

Mira didn’t answer. Manaaki’s final attack had pushed her over a metaphorical edge.

“Get out of my way!”

Mira stood up and advanced on the bulkhead door with newfound strength and focus. Every beat of Mira’s heart sent fresh anger, fury, and raw hatred for Manaaki Ranginui through her body, purging Mira of secondary thoughts and concerns. The pain was irrelevant. Her previous failure to use any kind of Psionic power unimportant. Manaaki’s theft of the Whisperers in the Void and his attempted murder of Mira replayed in her mind’s eye over and over and over again.

Only one thing mattered in that moment: There might be two people on the other side of that door who were loyal to the “man” who had just attacked Mira. In in Manaaki’s absence… they would do.

Mira seized the bulkhead door with both hands, allowing her pain and rage to give her new strength. The Celestial Gauntlets began to hum and emit a blueish-green light. Mira’s long silver hair was blown back by a nonexistent wind. With a great scraping sound, a loud crash, and grinding of metal and gears, Mira slammed the bulkhead door back into the wall as though it was a sliding glass panel!

If any of her comrades were stunned at what they’d just seen, none of them put their feelings into words. Mira turned to face Rangi and his fellow soldiers.

“Let’s go.”

The look on her face definitely scared Rangi for a moment. But he chambered a round in his weapon and was the first one to start moving towards the door. Whetu Karawana got there first, though. She put one hand on the handle and slammed it down, the doorway swung open. Whetu, Tai, Mira, Moana, Rangi, Ria, Olo, and Ari all charged onto the Midak’s bridge-

And the killing began.

The gunfire was so loud and continuous, it made the walls and ceiling vibrate. Mira was almost rendered deaf in the first few seconds. She darted into the bridge and took shelter behind a low metal barrier that separated the science stations from the helm. Whetu crumpled to the floor right in the doorway. She had died on her feet from a Gauss Rifle round to the head. Laser and Plasma Rifle fire caused sparks, flames, and smoke to fill the air. The lights flickered above Mira’s head while a flurry of movement caught her eye.

Meto Kapua was taking cover behind the Captain’s chair and firing a Gauss Rifle wildly over his head. The body of Lieutenant Commander Tai Tunui was just a few paces away from him. On the far end of the bridge, Rawiri Kopu was taking shelter behind the doorway leading to the Midak’s secret chamber. He had swung the heavy metal door out and was using it as a shield.

By this point, Mira had stopped thinking. She was acting on instinct. Her complete lack of military training wasn’t going to stop her from killing Meto. Mira rose out of cover as quickly as she could, took aim at Meto with her Plasma Pistol, and didn’t so much squeeze the trigger as crush it beneath her finger.

The sudden recoil almost broke Mira’s arm.

The hot green projectile just barely missed Meto and he looked around for the source. Mira however, had already fallen back behind cover; knocked to the floor by her own weapon. In frustration, Mira threw the pistol aside and it skittered along the floor of the bridge, coming to rest near the bodies of Kori Hei and Ahu Ata.

Mira then poked her head out of cover again to try and spot Meto. A short distance away, Ari Kopunui was slumped over the helm, vast quantities of blood draining from his chest, shoulders, and neck. Tai Whiu was dragging Ria’s limp body out of the line of fire and into cover. Rangi, Anika, and Moana were advancing across the bridge in a line, pouring suppressing fire into the Midak’s secret chamber where Rawiri was now trapped. But Meto-

“Stop!” Mira hollered at the top of her lungs, jumping out of cover and running full-speed towards Meto but it was too late!

His legs and waist had already disappeared into the trap door which lead to Radiation Shelter One. Meto raised his Gauss Rifle and fired three times at Mira. She crossed her arms in front of her face, focusing all of her willpower on surviving the onslaught. The Celestial Gauntlets activated again, releasing Psionic energy. The first two rounds missed Mira outright, but the third Gauss round took a spontaneous change in direction and embedded itself in the floor. Meto dropped his weapon into the trap door and then followed it down, slamming the door behind him.

Mira grabbed the handle and pulled, but it was no use. Meto had locked the Radiation Shelter from the inside.

From the secret chamber, the gunfire suddenly stopped as Moana and Anika simultaneously yelled:

“Enemy K.I.A! Ceasefire! Ceasefire!”

Mira looked up. Through the smoke which now filled the bridge, she saw Anika and Rangi dragging the body of Rawiri Kopu out of the secret chamber. He’d been shot more times than Mira cared to count. Over their shoulders, Mira caught a brief glimpse of what was inside the secret chamber:

A huge spherical object was resting in a metallic cradle surrounded by computer consoles. It was clearly meant to be spinning in said cradle, for now it was idle. Before Mira could get a better look at the object, Rangi slammed the door shut.

“Where’s Kapua?” said the Captain,

“He locked himself inside Radiation Shelter One,” Mira reported, “He could be anywhere on Decks Two or Three by now.”

“Uh, Mira?” said Moana’s voice from behind her, “He’s not leaving that shelter anytime soon! Look!”

Mira and Rangi both ran over to the computer console Moana was pointing at. It was the one attached to the armrest of the Captain’s chair. The words on the little screen said:

 

> _Cmd usr/ Engage emergency hyperspace jump. Authorization: Master Sergeant Meto Kapua – Partogan Green Guard._
> 
> _Sys/ Initiating emergency hyperspace jump. Searching for nearest star system._
> 
> _Sys/ Emergency jump target: Nithascal Star System_
> 
> _Sys/ Hyperspace module charging, ready in two minutes._
> 
> _Sys/ Commencing countdown to emergency hyperspace jump: J minus two minutes._
> 
> _Sys/ J minus 01:59_
> 
> _Sys/ J minus 01:58_
> 
> _Sys/ J minus 01:57_
> 
> _Sys/ J minus 01:56_
> 
> _Sys/ J minus 01:55_
> 
> _Sys/ J minus 01:54_
> 
> _Sys/ J minus 01:53_
> 
> _Sys/ J minus 01:52_
> 
> _Sys/ J minus 01:51_
> 
> _Sys/ J minus 01:50_
> 
> _Sys/ J minus 01:49_

Mira looked at Moana. Moana looked at Tai. Tai looked at Olo. Olo looked at Anika. Anika looked at the Captain. The Captain said,

“RUN!”

There was an incredible scramble. Mira, Moana, Tai, Olo, and Anika all ran back the way they had come. Since Meto had locked himself in Shelter One, there were only four other Radiation Shelters left to choose from on the ship. The obvious choice was Shelter Two, which was attached to the infirmary; since it was only a short distance away and just one deck down.

“Wait!” Olo called over the commotion, “What about Ria?”

“She’s dead!” Tai replied, “Keep going!”

Captain Rangi had stayed on the bridge, and as Olo dropped down the trapdoor leading to the infirmary, the Captain’s voice reverberated throughout the ship’s PA system:

“Attention all hands, this is the Captain. An Emergency Hyperspace Jump is underway at this time. You have **NINETY SECONDS** to report to a Radiation Shelter. May Queen Lucy’s speed go with you all.”

Mira dropped down into the infirmary to find it crowded. No fewer than a dozen extra shipmates were climbing _up_ the ladder from the galley and cramming into the only available Radiation Shelter. To her right was Shelter Number Two, which contained Wihongi’s corpse. To her left was a door leading to Shelter One, which Meto had locked from the inside. Crew members banged desperately on the locked door for a moment before turning around and sprinting to Shelter Two’s open doorway.

Behind her, Captain Rangi hit the floor, moved a Bio to the right, and slid down the ladder leading to Deck Three. After him, Moana hit the bottom of the ladder and collapsed. Her gunshot wound had somehow been re-opened during the previous actions. Mira elbowed her way past a Hyperspace Technician and grabbed a Nanomedikit from the shelf. Returning to Moana, Mira lifted her friend up and guided her into the far shelter which contain Watahui’s corpse.

A serene computerized voice called out over the speakers:

_"Emergency Hyperspace Jump in - sixty - seconds.”_

Mira followed Moana into the shelter and grabbed the handle of the heavy lead-lined door. Inside the shelter was Olo, Tai, Moana, and Anika. Behind them were four women: Hyperspace Technicians Hapaikiterangi Herekotutuku and Hinauri Keiha, Biologist Moe Kaa, and Sensors Manager Nyra Hei. There were also three men: Engine Mechanics Enoka Makura and Kahumanu Ngakaukawa, as well as Power Plant worker Ariki Ruru.

_"Emergency Hyperspace Jump in - forty five - seconds.”_

“Wait for me!” cried out a high-pitched female voice,

“Who was that?!” Said Anika, poking her head under Mira’s arm and out the door.

“Soldier!” Anika yelled, “Hurry up, you’ve got thirty seconds!”

_"Emergency Hyperspace Jump in – thirty - seconds.”_

“I’m on Deck Three!” yelled the woman’s voice, “Wait for me! Please! Don’t close the door!”

Now that Mira strained her ears, she heard the familiar pattering sounds of hands and feet climbing a ladder. She also recognized the voice, it was Power Plant worker Maia Maaka!

_"Emergency Hyperspace Jump in - twenty five - seconds.”_

“Maia!” Mira yelled, “You’ve got twenty seconds! Get up here!”

In the back of her mind, Mira subconsciously did the math. The shelter was on Deck Two. Maia was on Deck Three. She needed to climb a quarter of the ship _and_ run a few extra Bios to get inside the shelter, all in less than twenty seconds.

This was going to be very close.

Anika pulled back into the shelter and put one hand on the door, ready to slam it shut.

_“Emergency Hyperspace Jump in – fifteen”_

“Mira!” Olo yelled, “She isn’t gonna make it! Close the door!”

“She can make it!” Mira yelled back, “Come on Maia!”

_“Fourteen”_

“Wait for me!!” Maia called, “I’m almost there!”

“Mira!” Anika screamed, “Close the door!”

_“Thirteen.”_

“Wait!”

“Close it!”

“ _Twelve.”_

Anika grabbed the lead-lined door and started pulling with all of her might. Mira resisted.

“Give her more time!” Mira shrieked,

“SHE’S OUT OF TIME!!” Anika’s voice went higher than Mira’s.

“ _Eleven. Ten.”_

The ladder now shook each time Maia put a hand or foot on it. She was close.

“I’m here!” Maia cried, “I’m here! Wait!”

“ _Nine. Eight.”_

Olo, Anika, Hinauri, Hapaikiterangi and Kahumanu all seized the door and started pulling. It took all of Mira’s strength to defy them and keep it open.

“Maia!” Mira yelled, “Hurry up!"

_“Seven. Six.”_

Maia’s right hand appeared at the top of the ladder. She was about four Bios away. She’d have to run full-tilt.

“Wait for me! Don’t close it!” Maia’s head, arms, and chest were out of the trapdoor, tears streaming down her face.

_“Five. Four.”_

Maia was out of the trapdoor!

_“Three. Two.”_

“MIHAKA!!” Enoka yelled, “YOU’RE GONNA KILL US TOO!!

Mira pulled with all of her might and slammed the shelter door shut! Half a second later, Maia’s whole body slammed up against the now sealed door as she let out a terrible wail;

“NNNOOOOO!!!” Maia screamed, “OH, PLEASE NO!!”

_“Standby for Emergency Hyperspace Jump.”_

The all too familiar rhythmic humming sound began. A wall of purple light passed through the shelter as the Midak was enveloped by the Quantum Wavefront. The humming stopped. For a few minutes, everyone was silent. The shelter was so quiet one could have heard a pin drop. Mira’s mind was numb. She didn’t want to think about what she’d just done.

Then, after nearly five minutes of silent waiting, the humming started again. A second time the wall of purple light passed into and out of the shelter as the Midak emerged from the Quantum Wavefront. The computerized voice said over the PA;

_“Emergency Hyperspace Jump complete. Hyperspace Module powering down.”_

No one spoke. Nobody looked at one another. Then,

 _“Shipboard radiation now at acceptable levels._ ”

Mira didn’t want to move. Anika, clutching her Stuttermag, pushed past her and opened the door.

Maia Maaka was lying facedown on the infirmary floor. She had spent her final seconds clawing desperately at the shelter door, so Anika had to step carefully around Maia’s arms as she exited the shelter. Anika looked down at Maia’s corpse, then back at her comrades; but when she spoke, her words were aimed at Mira.

“Meto Kapua did this. He is responsible.”

Anika turned to face the far side of the infirmary. The doorway to Radiation Shelter One was right there. Then, as if to reinforce the sense of impending murder that permeated the air, Captain Rangi’s voice came over the PA.

“Attention all crewmembers. Meto Kapua, the man who just murdered your friends and comrades, is hiding in Radiation Shelter One.”

It was like a force of nature. Somehow, perhaps via her Psionic Gift, Mira could feel the Midak’s surviving crew members converging on Shelter One as she, Anika, Tai, Moana, Olo, Hapaikiterangi, Hinauri, Moe, Nyra, Enoka, and Kahumanu all did the same. As they reached the door, Mira heard the sound of gunfire again. It sounded as though Meto was trying to cover both doors and both hatches at once. Nyra, Enoka, and Tai all let go of the door when they saw Mira coming and backed away. Mira raised one Gauntlet-covered hand and banged on the lead-lined door as hard as she could.

“Open the door!” she yelled,

There was a momentary pause. Then, to Mira’s surprise (and everyone else’s too) a female voice answered.

“Friend or foe?”

“A foe.” Mira replied. “I’m the friend of every man and woman you’ve murdered in the past half-hour.”

“It’s Mihaka!” Came Meto’s voice, “Don’t open the door! She’s a Monarchist to the core!”

Mira’s blood ran hot and she clenched her fists.

“Open the door.”

She didn’t yell this time. When the female voice spoke again, there was a certain degree of fear and apprehension in it this time. Perhaps the person on the other side could detect what everyone else in the infirmary could see:

Dozens of barely visible purple wisps of Psionic energy were beginning to radiate off of Mira. Her Celestial Gauntlets were now crackling and snapping like a fire as sparks flew off their surface. Mira’s whole body was giving off so much energy that the room was actually starting to warm up.

“Mira,” said the woman’s voice, “Is that really you?”

Mira recognized the voice this time, and her fury grew like a wildfire.

Up to this point, Mira’s new powers had been fed and sustained by pain, rage, anger, and hatred. The sting of betrayal had awoken Mira’s powers while the stress of being directly attacked had given her the focus needed to channel those powers. But this final insult would allow Mira to master her Gift… because she had finally knew who that voice belonged to. Mira spoke one last time, her every syllable trembling with rage:

“Open the door, Kaia. Right. Now. **Open** **the fucking door.** ”

There was only the sound of a Laser Rifle being recharged.

Mira raised her hands and touched them to the lead-lined door. It shattered like glass before her! Splintered lead and pulverized metal flew in all directions, sending the shipmates behind Mira scrambling for cover. Inside the Radiation Shelter was Meto Kapua, Kaia Patariki, and a miniaturized version of the spherical device Mira had seen in the Midak’s secret chamber. It was spinning away in its little cradle, emitting a bright yellow light as it did so.

As Meto and Kaia turned to face Mira, the ceiling and floor hatchways abruptly swung open, as did the doorway on the other side of the shelter. It seemed as though all surviving members of the Midak’s crew were present or at least within earshot.

Kaia was pointing her Laser Rifle at the floor. Meto was aiming at Mira. She ignored him and spoke to Kaia.

“Why?”

Mira didn’t have to say anything else. Meto addressed Kaia right away.

“Don’t answer her!” he said, “We have a higher calling, a higher duty!”

Kaia looked back at Mira,      

“We’re trying to save the Church.” Kaia was pleading, “Please, Mira! The Queen! You know she’s gonna- she’s gonna tear down everything the Church and the Patriarch have been building! If she wins, she’ll destroy six hundred years’ worth of history and tradition! We have to protect the Holy Father, and we need... we need to fight! Before she ruins everything!”

Mira could only see a short distance into Kaia’s mind, but she could see just far enough to know that Kaia genuinely believed she was on the right side. Kaia was a staunch Theocrat, and she was absolutely terrified at the idea of living on a planet where the Church of the Mountain wasn’t in a position of power. Everything she had done, from joining the Green Guard to helping them in their takeover attempt, had been done out of fear. In the middle of that cloud of fear and uncertainty in Kaia’s mind, Mira saw one chance to end this without hurting her friend. Mira decided to try; she took a deep breath and put her bloodlust in check.

“Kaia,” Mira began slowly, raising her hands to chest height to show she wasn’t combative, “If you kill us, then you’ll win the fight, yes. But you won’t win the argument. You’ll burn down every meaningful relationship you have and destroyed a whole aspect of your life just to prove a political point. Is that something you’re ready to live with? Do you really... _REALLY_ want to leave behind a legacy of death, misery, and destruction just to make sure someone else doesn’t do the same?”

Kaia wavered, physically and mentally. Mira could feel it in her mind. Meto remained resolute. Mira devoted a little of her new powers to forcing her anger down. It cost her some focus, but she kept going.

“The revolution, the change you’re looking for” Mira continued, “It doesn’t have to come from violence. No one else needs to die for an idea today, or ever for that fact. Put down the gun, Kaia. Whatever revolution you’re trying to start… it’s not gonna start here. Maybe somewhere else and in another way, but not here and not today.”

Meto changed his stance, pointing his weapon at Kaia now.

“You are a Green Guard!” he said to Kaia, “you will not-“

Kaia ignored him. Dropping her Laser Rifle on the floor, she said quietly;

“I surrender.”

A cheer rose from all of the spectating crew members! Meto looked around him in a panic as the crowd encircled him. The Midak’s surviving crew members were now rapidly closing in on Meto, taking a step or two closer every time he looked away from them or pointed his Gauss Rifle in another direction.

Just when it seemed someone might actually reach out to grab Meto, the miniature device in the middle of the shelter suddenly squawked to life and the crowd fell silent, allowing a voice to emerge unobstructed from the odd mechanism:

“Midak Strike Team, Midak Strike Team, this is General Ruru. You’ve missed your scheduled check-in time. I have dispatched reinforcements to join you in the Nithascal system. Respond at once.”

The device fell silent. Meto looked from it to Mira, new strength and power in his eyes.

“The Revolution will start today!” Meto yelled to the crowd of crew members, who backed away as he brandished his Gauss Rifle. A few shipmates pulled out weapons of their own, ready to accept the challenge.

Meto then pointed his Gauss Rifle at Mira.

“You however, will not get to see it.”

There was an eruption of gunfire! In the heat of the moment, several Midak crewmembers had neglected to think about crossfire and had opened fire at Meto while their friends on the other side of the shelter stood in the line of fire! Midak crew members scrambled for cover as bullets, Gauss slugs, Laser and Plasma bolts came their way!

Mira acted reflexively and quickly. All of that anger and rage she’d been saving up finally came into play. Using all of her pent-up focus, Mira easily manipulated the energy radiating out of her Celestial Gauntlets to do her bidding. With her right hand, she caught every Gauss slug Meto had fired right out of the air, enveloped them in Psionic energy from her left hand, and then Mira returned the projectiles to their sender at lethal speed!

Shot four times with his own bullets, Meto Kapua keeled over backwards and fell to the floor. His final expression of shock and surprise permanently burned onto his face.

There was a general cacophony of noise in the radiation shelter. Two or three Midak crewmembers had been shot and injured during the final confrontation, and it was only now that someone noticed all three of the ship’s medics were dead. Amidst the confusion, the miniature communication device was accidentally smashed. Mira realized she had lost track of Kaia. She searched about the Radiation Shelter and all of the surrounding rooms for a minute before spotting Kaia in a corner of Shelter One.

Mira’s heart sank into the pit of her stomach. Her very first friend aboard the Midak was clutching at her chest with both hands, and blood was seeping out between her fingers. As Mira approached, Kaia slumped to the floor.

“Kaia!” Mira gasped, “Hang on, I’ll get a Nanomedikit!”

Mira ran into the infirmary. Nearly a dozen shipmates were already in there, and due to the death of all three medics, things had gotten chaotic quickly. Moe Kaa and Anahera Mita had taken over as acting medics, using what little medical training they had to triage the Midak’s wounded.

“Hey!” Mira yelled over the heads of several crewmembers. “I need a Nanomedikit!”

Moe had to stand on top of the surgical table to spot Mira in the small crowd. She grabbed the device and threw it across the room to Mira, who caught it and ran back into the shelter.

Kaia was very pale when Mira got to her. Mira took aim with the spray nozzle and hosed Kaia’s chest down. It was only then that Mira noticed the location of the bullet hole in Kaia’s chest, and how much blood she had already lost. The two friends shared a look and an unspoken conversation.

Mira pulled off her Celestial Gauntlets and held Kaia’s hands in her own. While crewmembers moved about chaotically, carrying bodies, weapons, and equipment, talking and crying for lost friends; Mira and Kaia occupied one dark and quiet corner of the Midak, taking in a final moment of peace together.

...

Up on the bridge, Captain Rangi watched as the body of Chief Petty Officer Whetu Karawana was picked up and moved into the temporary morgue set up in the crew quarters of Deck One behind the bridge. Once the body was through the door, Anika Aranui came in.

“What’s the damage?” Rangi asked apprehensively,

Anika sighed and put a hand to her forehead. The tips of her grey dreadlocks were stained with blood.

“The Communications Tower is destroyed,” she began, “Meto or his men planted a plasma bomb on the bulkhead itself. That’s how they got us to drop out of Hyperspace in the beginning.”

“And the Cargo Bay?” Rangi pressed,

“They knew about the weapons,” Anika admitted, “They raided the cache about an hour or two before the jump.”

“And the Bushranger?” Rangi continued,

“Looks like they knew about it, but never got down there.” She said, “I don’t think they counted on half the crew surviving the surprise jump.”

When Anika mentioned “half the crew” Rangi winced. He didn’t want to ask this final question... but he had to:

“So, what’s the butcher’s bill?”

Anika closed her eyes. It was terrible to think about.

“Thirty dead, eight wounded.” Anika said.

Captain Rangi was about to ask something when a voice behind him said,

“Thirty-one.”

Rangi and Anika turned around to see Mira. She held out a small fabric tag for the Captain to take. It said:

_Patariki, Kaia – Date/Place of Birth: 30 Akuhata, 649/The Mangaia, Partogan Continent_

As Rangi took the ID tag from Mira, Anika swore quietly.

“Half the crew.”

Mira was about to leave when Niko Pongia (who was filling in for the Kirikiri twins) said loudly to anyone who cared to listen:

“We have a Hyperspace signature! Multiple Partogan ships are exiting Hyperspace on the far side of the system!”

Mira, Rangi, and Anika all stopped what they were doing and pushed their way into the Sensors Suite. (the door was riddled with bullets and didn’t close anymore) Rangi grabbed a computer monitor and swiveled it around to see the raw data.

“I don’t believe it!” Rangi gasped, “They really came!”

“Oh, no!” Mira groaned, “Those must be the reinforcements mentioned in the-“

“That’s the whole Partogan Royal Navy!” Anika interrupted,

She wasn’t wrong. Just like the Whisperers in the Void had warned Mira, thirty out of thirty-one ships in the PRN were now on the far side of the Nithascal Star System and rapidly approaching the Midak.

“How are we gonna talk to them?” Asked Mira, “We’ve lost the Comms Tower!”

Captain Rangi frowned for a moment, then he said,

“Considering the situation, the word ‘classified’ has lost its meaning. Mihaka, Aranui, come with me.”

As the threesome crossed the bridge in the opposite direction, Anika complained,

“Sir!” she said, “It’s unprecedented! It’s risky! It might even be illegal!”

“We’re in a civil war!” Rangi replied, “Anything goes right now. Mihaka! Inside!”

And Rangi opened the door at the far end of the bridge, revealing the secret chamber at last. Mira practically dashed inside, eager for the Midak’s deepest secret to be revealed at last.

Mira took one step inside the chamber, looked at the massive machine in its center, and was instantly overwhelmed with guilt.

Kaia had been right all along.

 

 

It was a Hyperwave Relay. The holy grail of Faster-Than-Light communications technology. Mira had read about Hyperwave technology at the Royal Science Academy. Devices like this one projected a wide array of waves as speeds faster than light itself. With the Hyperwave Relay, Mira knew she could send a message to someone hundreds of lightyears away and receive a near-instant response.

“You- you!” Mira stammered, “You had this the WHOLE TIME!?”

Rangi slammed the door shut.

“Yes.” He said, “Although we were ordered to maintain complete radio silence throughout the entire mission for security reasons. As we found out an hour ago, the Green Guard was listening to their own relay. We’ve been listening to this thing for the past two years, but our hand’s been forced. We have to transmit now.”

“To the fleet?” Anika asked,

Rangi nodded and held up a hand in the “wait” signal.

“Mira,” he began. “You and I are going to talk to the Royal Navy, but before that happens, I need to get you up to speed on an important development.”

Mira nodded nervously.

“It can’t be worse than what’s already happened, right?” she asked,

Rangi and Anika looked nervously at each other. Then Rangi put a hand on Mira’s shoulder and said:

“Queen Phoebe the Second, our ruler, and your friend,” he began, “was killed by Manaaki about a year and a half ago.”

Oh, it was way worse.

“Take a second to... absorb it.” Rangi suggested,

Mira leaned back and pressed her back against the wall. Haki was dead?! How?! Why?! Mira wished Manaaki hadn’t stolen the Whisperers in the Void from her. How had such a powerful development gone over her head!? Mira also felt a little ashamed. She had just been told that THE QUEEN was dead. Why wasn’t she mourning? Why wasn’t anyone wailing or praying to the Mountain like they’d done when Mira’s mother had died? Was it because she’d seen so much death in the past two hours?

“Damn.” Mira managed to say. “I mean, I knew it might happen. I guess I wasn’t ready for it.”

“There’s more,” said Anika, “The Royal Election happened. That’s why it took so long for the fighting to get started back home.”

“Both factions, Monarchists and Theocrats, put forward their own candidate for Queen.” Rangi explained, “And if the battle-reports are to be believed, the new Queen of Partoga is currently commanding the fleet flying towards us.”

Oh.

Mira looked down at herself. She was covered in dried blood and rubble. Her hair, normally silky smooth and straight, was matted and filled with knots. She wasn’t fit for a conversation with the Queen! What the hell was she doing here?!

“Sir!” Said Mira, “Can I change into something more-“

“That’s not necessary,” said Rangi, “We’ve got work to do. And besides, you look as bad as me, so don’t worry.”

Rangi snapped his fingers at Anika.

“Assemble all the command staff on the bridge. We’re ready.” He said,

“Good!” Said Anika.

Mira could only bottle up her feelings of apprehension as Rangi pushed her by the shoulder back onto the bridge.

Including Rangi and Aranui, only five members of the Midak’s officer corps had survived the day’s fighting. The others were Lieutenant Tuu Anaru, who was nursing a broken arm, Lieutenant Tama Hetet, who had been shot through the left shoulder and now had the corresponding arm in a sling, and Lieutenant Kahumanu Ngakaukawa, who had escaped uninjured.

“Are the rumors true?” asked Tuu, “The PRN is coming to us?”

“I heard the whole fleet is on our side!” Said Kahumanu, “Is that true as well?”

“Only one way to find out!” said Rangi, “Aranui! Fire it up!”

Everyone on the bridge fell into an awed silence as Anika activated the Hyperwave Relay. Bright yellow light danced across the floors, walls, and ceiling as the device began to spin in its cradle. Noticing the light dancing across their faces, Anika slammed the relay room door shut. Niko Pongia ran forward to a wide stretch of bare wall on the starboard side of the bridge, reached up, and pulled a small cord. At once, a huge white plastic sheet descended all the way to the floor and a digital projector embedded in the ceiling came to life. The words **PLEASE STAND BY** appeared on the wall. Rangi nudged Mira on the shoulder and pointed to the corners.

“Cameras,” he explained, “They can see us on their screen, and we can see them on ours.”

The Midak’s officers cleared away and lined up along the port side of the bridge, facing the viewscreen. Mira did the same, although she retreated all the way to a corner where she thought she wouldn’t show up on another ship’s viewscreen. Then Rangi sat down in the Captain’s chair, swiveled about to face the screen and said loudly:

“This is the HMS Midak calling the flagship of the Partogan Royal Navy. We have sustained an attack by the Green Guard and require assistance. Please respond.”

There was a pause. The words **PLEASE STAND BY** abruptly disappeared from the screen as Anika yelled through the relay room door:

“Signal acquired, standby!”

The image on the viewscreen flickered for a moment, and then Mira saw a tall man with a neatly trimmed beard and a receding hairline. The jade sash he wore over his right shoulder featured a red stripe down the middle and a royal seal embroidered across it. Even before the man introduced himself Mira recognized his occupation. Mira had seen two of them in the days when her mother had been Queen.

This person was the Kuhina Nui of the Kingdom of Partoga. He served as the Queen’s most valuable advisor and also acted as a member of the National Assembly. It was also his duty to govern if the Queen was unavailable or incapacitated. For all intents and purposes, the Kuhina Nui was the second most powerful person in the Partogan government, second only to the Queen herself. The closest Human equivalent would be a “Prime Minister.”

The Kuhina Nui spoke.

“Midak, this is Taunui Ratana, Kuhina Nui of the Kingdom of Partoga and acting commander of the HMS Firelance of the Partogan Royal Navy. We have received your message are proceeding to your location now. What is the status of your mission?”

“All mission parameters completed. Sir.” Said Rangi,

Then Rangi stood up from his chair and raised his arm in salute. Everyone on the bridge copied him.

“I see you have her majesty the Queen aboard your ship.” Said Rangi, not dropping his arm. “The whole of the Midak is at her disposal, sir!”

The Kuhina Nui returned the salute, and as the Midak’s bridge crew started to relax, something caught the Kuhina Nui’s attention. He raised a finger in the “wait” sign and then simply walked offscreen. Before Mira could open her mouth to ask a question, he was back.

“Captain and crew of the Midak, her majesty the Queen would like to congratulate you on your success personally. So... ahem-“

Mira suddenly became very excited. Not to meet the new Queen, but to hear the Kuhina Nui say her title. The Queen of Partoga has always an extremely long and cumbersome title and more than one Kuhina Nui had been driven mad trying to say it. Mira distinctly remembered her mother’s Kuhina Nui threatening to quit the job because Kendra II’s title was too long. Mira actually took a couple steps closer to the viewscreen as the Kuhina Nui began to recite the title of the new Queen:

“Introducing the legitimate elected successor to Miranda the Great, Her Royal Majesty Emily the Second, Queen of Partoga, Custodian of the Great Library, Governor of the Royal Academy of Science, Patron of the Church of the Mountain, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Triple Alliance, President of the Galactic Alliance, Overlord of Kaitaia and Tauranga, and the Empress of Levakia!”

Disappointing. Mira’s shoulders fell. She’d been hoping for a classic three-minute-long groaner. Mira was about to take a step backwards when Queen Emily herself came into view.

The 19th Queen of Partoga had very light brown skin, silver hair, and piercing purple eyes. Her face was round and a little plump which complimented her almond-shaped eyes.

Absolutely no one was surprised to discover that Partoga’s new ruler was only 13 years old. Placing a child on the throne and expecting them to rule for life was a tradition older than the Kingdom itself, dating back to a mythical era when men supposedly sat on the throne.

So as soon as Queen Emily II sidestepped onto the screen and gave the crew of the Midak a great big toothy smile, the crew stood up, saluted, and began to chant:

“Long live Queen Emily!”

“Long live Queen Emily!” Mira cried out, “Long- What the!?”

The chanting died out. Everyone looked at Mira, including Queen Emily and her Kuhina Nui. Mira however, took a step closer to the viewscreen and stared directly at the Queen, looking right through the infinite gap of space and directly into Emily’s eyes. The awkward silence lasted for what felt like an eternity.

Then the Queen broke the silence by jumping up and down with excitement, waving both hands, and saying cheerfully:

“Oh. My. Gosh!! Aunt Mira! It’s you!! Do you remember me? It’s me! Your niece, Maki Mihaka! I got elected Queen of Partoga!”


	23. Reunions

Two hours had passed since the Midak fell in line with the ships of the Partogan Royal Navy and began crossing the Nithascal Star System, heading towards a Hyperlane that would return the group to Partoga. After only a few minutes of ship-to-ship conversation, the lead vessel of the formation, an Ion Cannon Frigate called the “Firelance” came alongside the Midak and docked with the damaged science vessel.  
  
Over the next hour, three parties came aboard the Midak. First, a pair of Royal Navy medics who brought the supplies and equipment required to treat members of the crew who’d been seriously injured. Moana Ranginui went in for surgery almost immediately and spent most of the interim sleeping off the effects of half-a-dozen drugs. Shortly after, the second team came aboard: five engineers crossed over to the Midak and began to make repairs to all of the ship’s damaged systems. The third party, however, was a more significant. A mere two hours after the Green Guard’s failed takeover attempt, all five of the Midak’s surviving officers joined Mira at the airlock on Deck One and stood at attention as three distinguished visitors arrived.  
  
“Admiral on deck!” called Commander Anika Aranui as the first visitor came aboard. Everyone raised their arms in salute.  
  
Admiral Toangia Apanui, the Commander of the entire Partogan Royal Navy, was a skinny man with a bald head and long white beard. Somewhere between 115 or 120 years old, he clearly had the look of a man who’d been forced out of retirement recently. He returned the salute with one exhausted arm and then shook hands with Captain Toa Rangi.  
  
“You’ve done well, my boy.” Said the Admiral, speaking in a slow, worn out voice. “You’ve turned heads, and the Queen now wishes to extend your military service for another five years. She has need of men like you.”  
  
Rangi gave his thanks, then turned his attention to the second visitor.  
  
Kuhina Nui Taunui Ratana clearly didn’t like passing through airlocks. He gripped the handrails and held tightly until Anika offered her hand for the Kuhina Nui to hold. Once he exited the airlock and was fully inside the Midak, he relaxed considerably. He coughed, cleared his throat, and said;  
  
“Introducing the legitimate elected successor to Miranda the Great, her majesty Queen Emily-“  
  
Mira’s niece didn’t wait for the rest of her introduction. The teenage monarch tore out of the airlock like... well... a child reuniting with their favorite aunt. When Maki (or alternatively, Queen Emily the Second) reached her aunt, Mira started to bend her head forward in what would have been a respectful bow. Instead, Maki ran straight to Mira and wrapped her arms around Mira in a bear-sized hug.  
  
“I missed you so much!” said the young Queen. “I thought I’d never see you again!”  
  
“I missed you too,” Mira replied, then added in a playful tone, “But you know, little Max, I  _always_  knew I’d see you again.”  
  
“Max” was an old, nearly forgotten nickname Mira had made up for Maki when she was a lot younger. She hadn’t intentionally used it here. It just slipped out. Maki didn’t miss the mistake.  
  
“Hey!” Maki said, pulling away from Mira and putting her hands on her hips, “I’m the  _Queen_  now! You don’t get to call me that anymore!”  
  
Her niece’s new position at the top of the hierarchy hadn’t really sunk in yet. Mira playfully stuck out her tongue at Maki before quickly covering her mouth with one hand as everyone else in the room chuckled and giggled.  
  
“If Your Majesty wishes to spend some time with her family-” Kuhina Nui Ratana started, but Maki cut him off,  
  
“Yes!” she said loudly, “You go get me a report on everything the Midak’s been doing, and find those three soldiers I asked for and bring them to me. Aunt Mira and I will be in the...” Maki trailed off, clearly waiting for someone to finish her sentence for her.  
  
Captain Rangi was on point,  
  
“In my quarters!” he said at once. “There’s a functional office in there Her Majesty can work from while she’s aboard.”  
  
While the rest of the visiting delegation went off to take care of other business, Mira and Maki were escorted to Captain Rangi’s quarters, which were located at the top of the one and only staircase on the entire ship. Rising up and away from the Bridge, Rangi’s quarters were now the highest part of the ship following the destruction of the Comms Tower.   
  
Mira had to sit down and wait for a few minutes at Rangi’s desk while Maki gave some instructions to her Kuhina Nui just outside the door. Mira, however, wasn’t paying attention. She opened up her satchel and looked down at the three items inside:  
  
Her Celestial Gauntlets, deactivated and inert, were resting underneath Mira’s old tablet computer. Pulling out the tablet, Mira tried one more time to turn it on.   
  
Hundredth time’s the charm right?  
  
No it wasn’t. The tablet remained silent and useless. Mira wasn’t sure exactly when it had happened, but at some point over the past ten hours, someone had stepped on and destroyed the little device. Perhaps during Moana’s fight with Watahui, or perhaps during the chaotic Emergency Hyperspace Jump, when nearly a dozen people had passed through the infirmary where Mira had left it.   
  
Regardless of how, the deed was done. Mira wasn’t going to make any more audio logs for the rest of the journey. It was too bad, really. Mira had liked recording those logs. It had helped her think a little more clearly, especially after she had made the covenant with the Whisperers in the Void.  
  
That final thought made Mira’s mind go down another tangent. For the better part of a month, Manaaki had been probing her mind, looking for a way in, and just two days ago he’s finally succeeded. Manaaki had come dangerously close to killing Mira outright; but instead, he seemed to have wasted those crucial seconds to steal the Whisperers in the Void first. Why? He already had the Eater of Worlds. What could he do with a second Shroud-being?  
  
Mira’s pondering was interrupted by the door swinging open and her 13-year-old niece stepping inside. Maki was talking to someone over her shoulder.  
  
“...Just knock when you’re ready to start, okay?” Maki finished, then she closed the door, dashed across the office and gave Mira another hug before she had a chance to stand and bow.  
  
“Mak-“ Mira started, then she corrected herself, “Your Majesty, you don’t have to-“  
  
“I do.” Said Maki, who was starting to cry, “You don’t know how much we’ve all missed you. Dad, Grandad, everyone. We were all so scared when the fighting started. We thought- we thought you’d get home and none of us would-“  
  
Maki choked up. She was crying too hard to talk. Mira held the girl close, one hand on Maki’s upper back and the other on the back of her head. Mira had never been a mother, but she’d gotten plenty of practice after Maki’s mother... left the scene.   
  
“Its okay, Maki.” said Mira. “I’m here now. Can you tell me how the rest of the family is doing? Where’s your papa?”  
  
Maki sniffed. She was about to wipe her nose on the sleeve of her dress (green with little gemstone studs on the sleeves and collar) when Mira caught her by the arm and said,   
  
“The Queen of Partoga doesn’t wipe her nose on the royal regalia.” Mira said in a tone somewhere between scolding and motherly.  
  
Mira held out her own arm, and Maki wiped her nose on the sleeve of Mira’s flight suit instead.  
  
“Maki,” Mira tried again, “Where’s your papa?”  
  
Maki’s father also happened to be Mira’s younger brother. She hadn’t seen Tai Mihaka in nearly four years at this point.   
  
“Papa’s fine.” Maki explained hastily, “After the Green Guard started chasing us, we tried to run to Visonia, my side was gathering there. He’s in the old family cabin with Grandpa. He kept saying he wanted to fight in my army, but I couldn’t…. I couldn’t just leave Grandpa alone up there in the hills, could I?”  
  
Maki choked up. She was scared she’d made the wrong choice.   
  
“I ordered him to stay, and he did.” Maki finished, “Last I heard, they’re safe.”  
  
“Its okay.” Mira said, “Now that you’re Queen, you’ll have to make a lot of hard choices like that. You’re off to a good start, Max.”  
  
Maki smiled at Mira.  
  
“Maybe you should start from the beginning.” Mira suggested, “I’ve been gone for two years, you know.”  
  
Maki took a deep breath, sat down in the chair on the other side of Rangi’s desk, and then she brought Mira up to speed on everything that had happened on Partoga:  
  
“So, about a week after you left,” Maki started, “Queen Phoebe started inviting me to the Great Library every day. She made me read history and statecraft and military theory and philosophy books for five hours every day and then I’d have to tell her about the stuff I read. It actually got kinda fun after a while. We’d talk and debate and argue about ideas until past midnight sometimes. Then she started introducing me to some of the Princes and Princesses, and members of the National Assembly, and...”  
  
Oh, wow. The Whisperers in the Void had been right last year. Just like Phoebe before her, Maki had been groomed for the throne by her predecessor. She was educated in the art of statecraft, introduced to the rulers of Partoga’s constituent Principalities, and given the chance to make an impression on the Assemblymen who’d actually vote her into power. Queen Phoebe had tried to stack the deck in Maki’s favor.  
  
Mira couldn’t help but wonder: had her own mother, Kendra the Second, been groomed by her predecessor, Miranda the Fourth?   
  
“Okay,” Mira said, causing Maki to stop counting the number of Princes who’d kissed her hand.  
  
“Tell me about the Royal Election. What happened to Phoebe? And how did you win?”  
  
Maki seemed uncomfortable going down this path, but she pressed on.  
  
“Well, sometime around the beginning of Haratua, the Holy Father found out that Her Majesty was tutoring me. He got really angry and confronted Phoebe in the Great Library while I was a few isles down from them. I heard the whole thing. He said she was ‘poisoning my mind’ and ‘making me abandon the values of the church’ and other things like that.”  
  
“And what did Haki say?” Mira inquired. Maki frowned,  
  
“Haki?” she repeated,  
  
“Oh! I meant Phoebe,” Mira corrected herself.   
  
She’d forgotten that Haki, like many Queens before her, had stopped using her birth name after receiving a royal one from the Church of the Mountain. Maki scratched her head and continued,  
  
“Anyways, the Holy Father said he’d never allow Phoebe to pick her own successor. It would ‘undermine the relationship between the Church and State’ and Phoebe told him she believed the struggle between the two would outlive them both.”  
  
Mira was sitting on the edge of her seat. She seemed to know what was coming next as the memory of her very first encounter with the Whisperers in the Void came back into her memory.  
  
“And then what happened?” Mira almost whispered the question,  
  
“Well,” said Maki, “the Holy Father threatened Phoebe. He said the ‘days of the monarchy were numbered’ and that soon, ‘Partoga would forget it ever wanted or needed a Queen. Worship would be sufficient.’ He said he had the means to destroy her and all memory of her. He sounded so scary! He said that his victory would be welcomed by all of the ‘pious people’. Then Phoebe got all angry, and she got right up in his face and said-“  
  
Both Mira and Maki spoke at the same time, both reciting Phoebe’s words from memory:  
  
“Whatever victory you gain here is temporary. I have allies and supporters in the last places you look. If you kill me, I’ll be a Martyr. Imprison me, and I’ll become a flag to rally behind. There’s no way this ends well for you.”  
  
Mira and Maki stared at one another. Maki shuddered,  
  
“How?!” the young Queen squeaked, “How did you know that?!”  
  
Mira sighed,  
  
“Look, Max. When we get some more free time. I really need to show you something. Something that...” Mira chose her words carefully, “Something unbelievable that happened to me while I was gone.”  
  
Maki seemed to sense the seriousness in Mira’s voice, and she decided not to press the subject. After a moment, Mira pressed on.  
  
“How long was it until Manaaki... you know... started the war?”  
  
All of the color seemed to go out of Maki.  
  
“Two days.” She said quietly. “Two days after he threatened Phoebe. The Green Guard went into the Palace, and dragged her out... and...and…”  
  
Maki didn’t go on. She looked like she was going to cry again. Mira put one arm around Maki’s shoulders and gently walked her to the other side of the Captain’s quarters, where they sat down on Rangi’s bed.   
  
“You don’t have to tell me about that part.” Said Mira.   
  
To be honest, Mira really didn’t want to know about her friend’s final moments. The deaths of Kaia, Ari, Whetu, Tamaho, Ria, and Maia had been bad enough to deal with over the past couple of days.  
  
“But please,” Mira went on, “The Election. Manaaki clearly didn’t want you to be Queen. How did you win?”  
  
Mira was already the daughter of a Queen. She knew the Election system by heart. Both houses of the National Assembly would convene in the Election Congress. The Spiritual Council was the upper house of the Assembly and had 15 Councilors appointed by the Holy Father. The lower house was called the Secular Council and would have 30 Councilors. The Secular Councilors were appointed by the Queen, but they couldn’t take their seats until they had been approved by at least half of the Spiritual Council, which meant the Secular Council was usually stacked with supporters of the Church.  
  
Once the Election Congress sat, they would interview and vote on Queen Candidates. Both houses voted together, and only a simple majority was needed to become Queen. Bare minimum, a girl needed 23 votes to become Queen. However, this almost never happened. With one major exception during the Second Hyperspace War (Miranda the Third) the Queen was always chosen unanimously. If a candidate couldn’t receive all 45 votes, the vote would be cancelled and the girl sent away without a throne.   
  
When Maki didn’t answer Mira’s question, she tried a different tactic.  
  
“Would you at least tell me how many votes you got?”  
  
Maki finally looked her aunt in the eyes and said,  
  
“29. I got 29 votes.”  
  
Suddenly, Mira hugged Maki so tightly the child ruler started to squirm under her.  
  
“Maki!” Mira squealed, “I’m so proud of you! You got a majority!”  
  
“You’re missing the point!” Maki gasped for air as Mira released her. “The other girl, the one Manaaki wanted, she got 16 votes and they made her Queen instead.”  
  
This had to be the biggest mood swing of Mira’s life.  
  
“WHAT?!” she exclaimed,  
  
Maki folded her arms.   
  
“That’s why there’s a war.” She said sullenly. “A bunch of Councilors wanted me to be Queen, but another group of them supported ‘Queen Miranda the Fifth’ instead of me.”   
  
Maki finished her sentence in a sarcastic tone and with a two-handed air quote. She seemed to be on the verge of losing her temper, her face and arms becoming more and more animated as she continued,  
  
“Aronui,” Maki said, her voice rising and getting faster, “That’s ‘Miranda the Fifth’s’ real name, was just some mindless 10-year-old grade-schooler who didn’t know a damn thing about ruling a Kingdom, she’s just going to be a stupid puppet that just repeats whatever Ranginui tells her and she stole the throne from me and I HATE HER! I HATE HER!”  
  
_So... Maki hasn’t outgrown tantrums yet?_  Mira thought. She decided to head this off at the pass.  
  
“Calm down, Maki.” Mira put a hand on Maki’s. “Remember, you’ve got more support than she does. And you have the Navy on your side too, and me. You’re always going to by  _my Queen._ ”  
  
Maki folded her arms and pouted. Crisis possibly averted.  
  
“Aronui has the Army.” She sulked. Maki turned her hand over to hold Mira’s. “And she’s also got...”  
  
Maki trailed off and her hand tightened around Mira, but before Maki could continue, Mira realized what Maki was about to say. Looking down at Maki’s hand, Mira finally noticed something very, very,  _very_  important was missing:  
  
In any society ruled by a monarch (such as a King or Queen) the ruler will wear or carry some kind of badge of office: A device to identify them as the true monarch of the land. Jewelry, a scepter, badges, medals, sashes, or of course the easily recognizable crown. In Partoga, the Queen could be identified by the Whetu Kārerarera.   
  
“Whetu Kārerarera” is a Partogan phrase roughly translating to “Green Star.” It is the name given to a beautiful green gemstone which can only be possessed by the Queen of Partoga. According to legend, Miranda the Great (the first Queen) vanquished the Final King of Partoga at the Battle of Archer’s Canyon during the Wars of the Famine and took the Green Star from him. Ever since then, the Green Star was passed down from one Queen to the next. Each Queen did something different with it:  
  
Miranda the Great made the Green Star part of her sword hilt.   
  
Sophie the Merciful attached it to a tiara and wore it on her head.  
  
Sarah kept it at the end of a necklace.  
  
Anne the Builder used it as the centerpiece of a broach.  
  
Emily the First died before she could lay hands on it, having ruled for only fifteen hours.  
  
Karan the Scientist attached ribbons to it and wore it in her hair.  
  
Carol the Pious made it the core of her Royal Scepter.  
  
Madeline the First affixed it to one of her earrings.  
  
Phoebe the First kept it on a more beautiful necklace than Anne did.  
  
Lucy the Seafarer decorated her telescope with it.  
  
Madeline the Second also wore it in her hair, but she looked better than Karan.

Marie the Scholar embedded the Green Star in a ring and wore it on her left hand.  
  
Kendra the Peacemaker decorated her eyepatch with it.  
  
Miranda the Second also wore it as a broach.  
  
Miranda the Third was killed by the Invaders during the War in Heaven, and never got anywhere near the Green Star. Her rule lasted only ten days.  
  
Miranda the Fourth decorated her gun holster with it.  
  
Kendra the Second (Mira’s mother) put it onto a new ring and wore it on her right hand.  
  
Phoebe the Second also wore it as a ring, but on her left hand.  
  
And Emily the Second... didn’t have it anywhere on her person. In fact, she didn’t have the Green Star at all.  
  
“Maki,” Mira asked slowly, “Where’s the Whetu Kārerarera?”  
  
Maki didn’t look at Mira when she answered.  
  
“That  _bitch_  Aronui has it.”  
  
_Ah._  Mira thought.  _That’s going to be a big problem. Also, where the hell did Maki learn to swear like that?!_  
  
Mira just needed one more piece of information to find.  
  
“What about Manaaki?” she asked, “What’s he been doing? Where is he?”  
  
Maki shrugged as though the Holy Father’s actions were unimportant to her.  
  
“Locked himself inside Fort Miranda with a bunch of Green Guards. He’s been in there since the fighting started. My troops have had the place surrounded for nearly a year now and we’re trying to starve him out. The best part is that we think Aronui’s in there with him. So when the Fort falls, we might be able to stop the whole war!”   
  
Maki seemed to swell with confidence as she said this, but Mira found that this explanation brought up another question:  
  
“Hold on,” she said, “I thought you said the Royal Army took Aronui’s side. How do you have enough soldiers to surround Fort Miranda?”  
  
Maki smiled, she really wanted to brag about this part.  
  
“I’m actually really proud of this,” she explained, “Ratana was Kuhina Nui for Phoebe. When the time came to vote, he was the one who convinced so many councilors to vote for me! Then after we started fighting, he took me around to all of the Principalities and convinced a bunch of Princes and Princesses to support me and give me their militias and guard units. Ratana and I spent nearly a year merging them all together in a new army we call: The Free Partogan Army! When the meeting starts, we’ll tell you about the strategy we’ve been using.”  
  
Mira straightened up. She felt like she had most of the puzzle pieces sorted out by now: It seemed Manaaki was using the succession crisis caused by Phoebe’s death and the subsequent fighting between two rival Queens as a front for his own ambitions. Ambitions that had brought him into direct conflict with Mira when he repeatedly attacked her mind and stole the Whisperers in the Void.  
  
As much as Mira hated to admit this, hiding inside the biggest military base on the planet (Fort Miranda) was also a good idea. That place was designed to outlast the Levakian Uprising. He’d have enough food, ammunition, and supplies to resist an enemy army for up to half a decade. Whatever he was planning to do with the Eater of Worlds and the Whisperers in the Void would happen unobstructed.   
  
Mira pushed those thoughts aside. Maki had said something about a meeting and “strategy.”  
  
“Is that what you’re waiting for right now?” Mira asked, “Are all of those military guys setting up a War Meeting for you?”  
  
Maki nodded.  
  
“Actually,” Maki said, “You’re coming to the meeting too. Rangi did put you on the Bushranger crew, right?”  
  
Mira nodded.  
  
“Guess he did,” she said. “Let me go check and see if everyone’s ready for you.”  
  
Mira crossed the Captain’s Quarters in just a few strides and had one hand on the door when she heard the sound of raised voices!  
  
“It’s you!” Someone on the other side yelled.  
  
Unpleasant flashbacks to the violence of two days ago rolled through Mira’s mind. She focused her mind, collecting and stockpiling a small amount of Psionic power in the back of her mind, then Mira put her shoulder to the door and pushed it open, hard.  
  
The Midak’s bridge was very crowded with some twenty five people, but everyone had stood back so that two soldiers could have a joyous reunion near the Captain’s chair. Captain Rangi was tightly hugging a very tall and handsome Partogan soldier with slicked back silver hair and a rugged face so attractive that all the women in the room seemed to be magnetized to it, following his every movement. Even Mira felt a metaphorical butterfly dancing in her stomach, but it wasn’t out of attraction. When she looked at the man who was patting Rangi on the back and talking into his ear, Mira couldn’t help but think he looked very familiar. She had definitely met him before somewhere.  
  
Moana Ranginui and Tai Whiu were both standing right next to the door Mira had just emerged from. Moana was also enraptured by the newcomer, and was leaning so far forward on her feet that it looked like she was about to fall over. Although that might be because she was still a little woozy from surgery.  
  
Mira relaxed and allowed her pent-up focus and Psi-energy to dissipate. Then she tapped Tai on the shoulder.  
  
“Who’s the newcomer?” She asked,   
  
Tai put out a hand to stop Moana’s precarious movement before speaking,  
  
“That’s Commodore Kahu Koraku,” Said Tai, “He’s from the HMS Dervish, one of the Assault Frigates, and he’s- hey! What’s up with you?”  
  
Tai had noticed the sudden look of discomfort on Mira’s face. As soon as he had mentioned the name “Kahu Koraku” Mira had abruptly remembered where she’d met the man before and her attitude toward him had changed, reflecting her less-than-fond feelings about him.   
  
“Nothing.” Said Mira quickly. “We’ll be fine as long as his father’s not here.”  
  
She fell silent as the Commodore and the Captain finally broke their hug and Kahu addressed the bridge at large. Even his voice was attractive, causing Anika Aranui to cock her head to one side and twist her dreadlocks absent-mindedly with one hand.  
  
“I’ve just been talking with my old friend Tui here, and we’re in agreement that after all the trials and suffering this crew’s been through, it’s just not enough to award the ship with a Battle-Star. We’ve decided that every member of the crew, living and deceased, will receive some personal award from either myself, the Admiral, or perhaps even Her Majesty the Queen if she feels so inclined. A job well done, all of you!”  
  
A round of applause and cheers went up around the bridge before being interrupted by a voice calling out,  
  
“Wait a second, who’s Tui?”  
  
Maki had emerged from the Captain’s quarters and was now standing between Mira and Moana. She was the one who had spoken. Moving as though the ship had been hit by a wave, everyone bowed their heads low and spoke in unison:  
  
“Your Majesty,” The assembled soldiers said together,  
  
Maki’s question still hadn’t been answered,  
  
“Seriously,” she said, “Who’s Tui?”  
  
Kahu stuck his thumb out at Captain Rangi, who spluttered exasperatedly.   
  
“Hold on,” said Arapata Kirikiri, “I thought your name was ‘Toa Rangi.’ That’s what it says on the manifest, anyway.”  
  
Kahu burst out laughing. As he did so, Captain Rangi’s face turned a little red and a low rumble of laughter slowly started to circle the bridge.  
  
“You changed your name?” Anika asked,  
  
Rangi nodded.  
  
“Your real name is Tui?” asked Moana, who was struggling to keep a cackle from escaping her mouth.  
  
Rangi nodded again. And then Maki let the cat out of the bag.  
  
“That’s a girl’s name!” she shrieked with laughter! The whole bridge followed suit.  
  
Mira bent over, slapped her own knee, then grabbed Tai and said,   
  
“I knew it! It was two years ago! Its in my logs so I can’t prove it anymore but I so called it!!”  
  
Finally, the commotion on the bridge died down. Captain Tui “Toa” Rangi, who had endured humiliation and ridicule far beyond this, simply brushed off the whole moment like dust off his shoulder and said,  
  
“I guess everyone’s here. Shall we cross over and get started?”

The next ten minutes were very interesting. While she and Maki had been chatting in the Captain’s quarters, the HMS Firelance had undocked from the Midak, flown back to the fleet and been replaced with the HMS Dervish. Assault Frigates are, in general, larger than Ion Cannon Frigates, so the Dervish’s outer hull was only a few short Bios away from touching that of the Midak as the two docking ports extended towards one another and connected. When it was her turn to step into the airlock and cross over to the Dervish, Mira just wanted to stand there, in between the two starships, and take in the view out the airlock’s windows. Space seemed that much bigger when there was less between it and the viewer.   
  
The interior of the Dervish was extremely cramped. Mira wasn’t surprised by this. The Midak was a science vessel, and could afford wide open spaces. The Dervish was purely a ship of war. Armed members of the Royal Navy lined the path Mira and the others took to the warship’s conference room, not allowing Mira to see further into the Frigate.   
  
The Dervish’s conference room reminded Mira of the war room she’d seen in Mazama Monastery back on Earth. Except here, no one was manning the computers lining the walls, and about twenty chairs were crammed around a big, oval shaped table. The chairs themselves were mismatched; as thought they’d been brought in from all over the ship. In the center of the table was a map of the Homeworld, Partoga. As Mira was escorted to her seat by a member of the Dervish crew, she looked over the map.  
  
Partoga is a small world with one huge ocean, two polar ice caps, and three major landmasses:   
  
In the west, the Partogan Continent was small and roughly circular. The coastline was speckled with many rivulets carved out by the Unnamed Mountain when it had unleashed its Great Wrath six-hundred eighty-seven years ago. Partoga had four major landmarks: The Unnamed Mountain, which stood taller than anything else on the map, despite the fact that its summit had been blown away and replaced by a crater filled with water. There was also Archer’s Canyon, a deep, violent crack running northwest along the Visonian Foothills and out to sea. The uninhabitable Boron Desert separated the eastern city of Candon from the rest of the continent while the equally hostile Toxic Jungle did the same for The Mangaia in the south.   
  
The Continent, the Planet, and the Kingdom all took their names from the colossal metropolis which dominated the western half of the continent: Partoga City sprawled for hundreds of Kios inland away from the waterfront, covering just under half of the continent in urban sprawl. Its spread was only stopped in the North by Archer’s Canyon, the Unnamed Mountain in the East, and the Rahkshian Jungle to the south.  
  
Looking to the West of the Partogan Continent, there was only water. But to the east of Candon there was a long chain of thin, narrow islands called E-Ena. These broken landforms were all that remained of an isthmus that had once connected Partoga and Levakia into a Pangea-like supercontinent.  
  
Then there was Levakia itself. Nearly two times bigger than Partoga, nearly half of the planet’s Eastern Hemisphere was dominated by Levakia. Mountains, hills, valleys, canyons, lakes, rivers, deserts, snowfields, and other natural biomes could be found here with one caveat:  
  
Nearly everything on Levakia was dead. This map in front of Mira didn’t reflect this, but she had been there plenty of times during her teenage years. She had seen it. Levakia had never recovered from the Unnamed Mountain’s Great Wrath. When volcanic ash blocked out the sun, all of the plant life in Levakia had died, followed quickly by most of the animals. The Levakian people, a race of highly intelligent bipedal felines, had abandoned their ancestral home and fled to Partoga, where the Wars of the Famine were already well underway. No Levakian would set foot on their ancestral home again until the Levakian Uprising four hundred years later.   
  
Both Partogans and Levakians had tried to colonize Levakia in the past. The Westernmost point of the continent was the Tren Krom Peninsula, a rounded fingertip of land that stuck out and away from the rest of Levakia, as though desperately trying to reach Partoga. Only two cities remained there, Kaitaia and Tauranga. The rest had been bombed into oblivion by the Invaders during the Second Hyperspace War, leaving behind only a handful of craters for Mira to look at on this map.  
  
A hand clapped onto Mira’s shoulder. She’d been taking in the map of Partoga for so long that she hadn’t noticed everyone else coming in. She looked up and started to turn her head to see who was accosting her, but got distracted by the sight of several new faces:  
  
A veritable “who’s who” of Partogan politics had assembled inside the conference room. Alongside the military commanders who had followed Mira aboard the Dervish from the Midak, there were now several more people in the room who had clearly been aboard the Dervish the entire time. Mira counted no fewer than nine members of the National Assembly, four Princes, and two Princesses. Then Mira looked up to her shoulder, spotted the Prince holding her shoulder and thought:  _oh, here we go again._  
  
The man holding onto Mira was Kahurangi Koraku. He was the Prince of Visonia, a Principality in the northeast of Partoga, east of Archer’s Canyon and north of both the Unnamed Mountain and the Boron Desert. Like all of the other Principality rulers, he had been appointed to the post by a Queen of Partoga. Specifically, he had been appointed by Mira’s mother, Queen Kendra the Second, and had been one of her closest political allies. He was also the father of Kahu Koraku, the Commodore now sitting on Mira’s left.   
  
Mira had met both of these men when she was just a little kid. She didn’t mind being around Kahu in the slightest, but she couldn’t tolerate his father at all for one specific reason.  
  
“Mihaka!” Prince Kahurangi thundered in that deep, booming voice of his, “I’m so glad to see you! It’s been too long!”  
  
“Not long enough,” Mira mumbled under her breath. Then she added in a polite tone, “Hi Kahu. Got promoted, did you?”  
  
“Yeah.” Kahu said politely. “Her Majesty said I ‘acquitted myself nicely’ at the Battle for Fort Daxia.”  
  
The two lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Prince Kahurangi ignored said uncomfortable silence. Deliberately misreading the complete disinterest that existed between Mira and Kahu, he grabbed each of them by the shoulder and pushed them closer together. He said,  
  
“My son never forgot about you, Mihaka. We were worried sick about you these past two years, especially after your family went underground. But of course that was the right decision! Neither of us would have been ready to face the day if something horrible had happened to you. But now that you’re back and the Mihaka family has returned to its rightful place in the national hierarchy, we can get down to brass tacks!”  
  
_Please walk on those tacks… with your bare feet._  Mira thought. She threw a frustrated look at Kahu, who returned the gaze with a facial expression that said,  _I’m sorry you had to come back to this._  
  
“Mihaka,” said Prince Kahurangi in a slightly more serious tone. “Given the… recent changes in Partoga’s political climate, I would like to once again offer the proposal I extended to you three decades ago.”  
  
“What?!” Mira said quickly in a sharp voice, “The one you made when I was  _seven years old?!_ ”  
  
Thirty-two years ago, when Mira’s mother had ruled, she had appointed Kahurangi to become the new Prince of Visonia. Queen Kendra the Second had described him to Mira as her “most expensive ally.” He needed constant attention and ego-stroking to stay happy. So the Mihaka family had suffered together as Kahurangi paid increasingly frequent visits to the Royal Palace.  
  
Queen Kendra the Second tried to make the alliance between the Mihaka and Koraku families feel worthwhile by throwing a large party or feast at the Palace whenever Prince Kahurangi came to visit. These lavish parties cost millions of Dirams each, and Kendra’s political opponents were only silenced by the fact that Visonia was a breadbasket. Without Prince Kahurangi and by extension, Visonian grain, all of Partoga could have starved.  
  
Mira’s father had tried to entertain the man by challenging him to sporting matches like Kolhii, Ignalu, Akilini, Disk Dueling, or Ussal Crab Racing. Kahurangi’s pride was so immense, however, that he’d quit playing whenever Mira’s father scored a point over him, much less gain a victory.  
  
Mira’s brother, Tai, was thankfully too young at the time to deal directly with Kahurangi, but that meant his attention would focus entirely on little Mira. She didn’t know how, where, why, or when; but at some point Kahurangi had suddenly become obsessed with the idea of Mira getting married to his oldest son, Kahu. Absolutely no one in the Mihaka family liked this idea. Even Kahu himself didn’t like it, and the “young couple” almost never had any fun when they were forced to spend time together and practice their “courtship.”  
  
Queen Kendra was especially against such an arranged marriage, but Mira didn’t know why. She had asked her mother countless times, but Kendra constantly answered with “when you’re older, sweetie.” Prince Kahurangi would keep trying for years. Curiously, he actually increased his attempts to force a wedding after Kendra was diagnosed with brain cancer and started dying.  
  
Arguably the last great moment of Kendra’s reign came two weeks before her death. Prince Kahurangi came to the Palace and outright demanded for 9-year-old Mira to be forced into marrying Kahu. The ailing Queen became enraged. She actually rose from her bed, armed herself with a shoe, and chased him out of the palace, screaming obscenities and threats at him the whole way.  
  
Mira thought she’d seen the last of Kahurangi at her mother’s funeral. He hadn’t said a word to Mira and had returned to Visonia.   
  
It had been thirty years since this madness with Prince Kahurangi had happened, but Mira just wasn’t in the mood to find out why he was suddenly itching for her to marry his son again, nor was she interested in letting this drag on for any length of time.  
  
“No.” She said in a very firm voice. “I am not, and never well be interested in that offer.”  
  
Prince Kahurangi looked very disappointed. Kahu relaxed visibly in his seat and gave Mira a grateful smile. Kahurangi spluttered indignantly as someone shoved him as they moved to a seat a little further down the table.  
  
“Why not!?” the Prince finally managed to say. “My son Kahu is the best possible match for you.”  
  
Behind him, Kahu rolled his eyes. Kahurangi continued,  
  
“He possesses both the strength and money to support a family.”  
  
“I have my own strength,” Mira shot back, “And the Government Pension for Ex-Royal Family Members.”  
  
As soon as those last words were out of her mouth, Mira realized she’d talked her way into Kahurangi’s trap. He leaned closer to Mira and said in a low voice,  
  
“But you’re not ‘ex-royalty’ anymore, are you, Mihaka? In fact, this is unprecedented. No family has ever held the throne more than once. Your little niece won’t be able to hold onto her new _'Mihaka Dynasty’_  without a powerful family like the Koraku or Ranginui to hold it up. And seeing as the Ranginui family is out of the question...”  
  
Kahu cut him off.  
  
“Mira! You didn’t tell me you were seeing someone!”  
  
This statement was so out of the blue that even Mira stammered right alongside Kahurangi. Last time Mira checked, she hadn’t had a boyfriend in nearly ten years!  _Of course,_  Mira thought,  _He’s trying to give me an out._  
  
Mira started to respond with some noncommittal answer when a hand actually closed on her shoulder and a voice behind her said,  
  
“Mira! You’ve gotta go more slowly, you know. Moana can’t walk very fast right now.”  
  
Tai Whiu and Moana Ranginui had taken the two seats to Mira’s right while her back had been turned. They seemed to have caught part of the conversation because they both cautiously and subtly moved to separate Mira from Kahurangi. Moana (looking mischievous the whole time) shook his hand while simultaneously walking him towards a seat further down the table and said,  
  
“Petty Officer Moana Ranginui - no relation the big bad Ranginui of course – You look like you were sharing war stories. Well, sir, let me tell you about how I lost my uterus the other day..."  
  
Kahu reached across the table and shook hands with Tai.  
  
“So, are you two actually...?” Kahu started to ask,  
  
“No!” Mira and Tai said together.   
  
“That would be really, really weird.” Mira added, “My little brother is named Tai. He’d never let me hear the end of it.”  
  
Moana reappeared and sat down on Tai’s right.  
  
“Don’t worry, Mira.” She said, “That creep’s too grossed out to talk to you for a little while. Why the hell did he have his hands on you anyway?”  
  
Before Mira could answer, Admiral Apanui stood up at the head of the table and called for quiet.  
  
“I’ll tell you later,” Mira hissed.  
  
Admiral Apanui introduced Kuhina Nui Ratana to the group at large, then Ratana brought Maki into the room. Once all of the politicians and soldiers were seated and silent, Admiral Apanui started the briefing by saying  
  
“The False Queen Miranda and her Theocrat allies have made a crucial mistake. We now have only a few weeks to exploit the situation and end this war.”  
  
There was a commotion all around the room. On the other side of the conference table, Captain Rangi whispered something in Anika’s ear. She turned and repeated his message to the Princess of Candon. Admiral Apanui held up a little remote control and clicked a button.  
  
Behind him, a large computer screen embedded in the wall of the conference room lit up, showing a digital map of Partoga. Overlaid on top of this map were little red and green icons which showed the presence of friendly and hostile military forces. While the gathered war meeting looked over his shoulder at the map, Admiral Apanui continued to address the room at large.  
  
“We’ve received intelligence via the Hyperwave Network that the Mothership Tantomile has departed Partoga and is actively looking for us. The direct consequence of the Tantomile’s absence is that the enemy has surrendered air superiority over the Homeworld. Our side has since regained dominance of the sky and the Theocrats are in full retreat on all fronts.”  
  
Murmurs and positive chatter circled the conference table. Mira didn’t join in. The revelation of the Mothership’s disposition had come as a shock to her.  
  
“Wait a minute,” Mira said out loud, “We  _lost the Mothership?!_  How did that happen?”  
  
Kahu waved a hand dismissively.  
  
“Theocrats got to Fort Daxia right after me and my boys.” He explained to both Mira and the rest of the Midak crew,   
  
“Tantomile was in mothballs just like the rest of the fleet.” Kahu went on, “I made a judgement call to acquire all of the support ships before the Mothership itself. Theocrats went for Tantomile first. Task Force Kikanalo-”  
  
Kahu gestured around himself,   
  
“I got the whole thing. Twenty-two Assault Frigates and eight Ion Cannon Frigates. Just for good measure, though, we blew up half of the Resource Collectors and Mobile Refineries, and sabotaged the rest. The Theocrats haven’t be able to build any ships since then.”  
  
A smattering of applause went up around the room at Kahu’s story. Maki folded her arms and said,  
  
“You mean ‘the Theocrats haven’t built any ships  _as far as we know’_  right? We’re talking about  _the Mothership_ , a factory with a Hyperspace Module, not some undersupplied carrier.”  
  
Humbled in front of a crowd, Kahu shrunk into his seat a little,  
  
“Of course, your Majesty.” He said, “That’s quite right.”  
  
Admiral Apanui sighed and went on as though there hadn’t been an interruption.  
  
“The space above Partoga is presently undefended, and Prince Kahurangi’s operatives have now definitively pinpointed Fort Miranda as the current location of both the False Queen and her last viable supporter, Holy Father Manaaki Ranginui.”  
  
The Admiral clicked his remote again. The image on the screen changed to a satellite image of Fort Miranda. Lines, labels, and arrows snaked their way over the image.  
  
“All of our census data about Fort Miranda comes from before this conflict started, although it has been augmented by our scouts on the ground.” Said the Admiral. “Currently, we believe the installation has a population of roughly 47,600 active members of the Green Guard, another 10,500 reserve soldiers, and some 76,000 civilians, most of whom are military family members. Spouses and children, essentially. The Complex itself covers approximately 295 square Kios of land and is roughly the same size as the city of Candon combined with all of its outlying suburbs.”  
  
More chatter went up around the room. Captain Rangi, Anika, and several other military men and women put their heads together, talked for a moment, and then Anika spoke up.  
  
“Admiral? Sir? What forces do we have available to take the fort with?”  
  
Admiral Apanui clicked his remote again and displayed the current location of friendly forces near Fort Miranda. Mira looked and saw the complex was surrounded on three sides by green bars and boxes which had approached from the East, West, and South. The Admiral explained,  
  
“No fewer than nineteen non-motorized Infantry Divisions from the Free Partogan Army, plus twelve Armored Regiments, three Battalions of Combat Engineers, and eight Artillery Companies, many of whom defected from the Theocrats. Our forces are also being supported by a logistics Battalion operating out of Partoga City.”  
  
On Mira’s left, Kahu did the math in his mind and said the sum total out loud:  
  
“That’s just over 316000 troops!” Kahu marveled, “We’ve got them outnumbered and outgunned over 5 to 1!"  
  
Somehow, this didn’t make Mira feel any more comfortable. Across the table, Rangi seemed to have similar sentiments.  
  
“Admiral,” Rangi began, “The numerical advantage might be a moot point here. The Free Partogan Army is just a volunteer force built over the last two years. The Green Guard are highly trained elite warriors AND they’ve entrenched themselves inside the biggest military installation on the planet. I assure you,  ** _the enemy has the advantage._**  Those troops need some kind of support!”  
  
More chatter circled the war meeting. The Admiral raised his hand for silence.  
  
“That, Captain Rangi,” Admiral Apanui said, “Is why you and your crew were sent to find Earth, and why the completion of your mission was so important.”  
  
All eyes in the room now rested on Rangi, Anika, Moana, Tai, and Mira.  
  
“The human warship you brought back will serve as the most important piece of both the preliminary bombardment and the close air support that will protect our troops during the final assault. Her Majesty the Queen has considered all of the options, and she’s chosen a plan of action. Your Majesty...”  
  
Admiral Apanui passed the remote to Maki and left her to stand alone at the head of the table. A 13-year-old girl was about to dictate military strategy to about thirty grown adults; Mira couldn’t help feeling proud of Maki as she started to talk, communicating with the confidence and commanding presence of a true Queen.  
  
“Once Task Force Kikanalo gets into orbit over Partoga,” Maki started, “The Preliminary Bombardment will happen in three phases. Once all three phases are done, then the ground attack will start. Everyone got me so far?”  
  
Nods and murmurs of assent. Maki launched into her plan.  
  
“The Assault Frigates, led by Commodore Kahu Koraku aboard the Dervish, will open fire on the fortress from space with Mass Drivers and Plasma Bombs. Your targets will be the Fire Support Bases and the Forward Operating Bases along the Southern and Eastern borders of the complex. They’re located right here.”  
  
Maki pointed them out on the screen, then she continued.  
  
“Meanwhile, the Ion Cannon Frigates will open fire on all defensive emplacements. Walls, towers, bunkers, armories, arsenals, and so on. They’re on the map behind me.”  
  
Click. More targets appeared on the map. This time there was a great collective scratching noise. Several ship captains and squadron commanders were attending the meeting too, and they had just started writing down their targets.  
  
“After all ships finish hitting their targets,” Maki went on, “we start the second phase. The HMAS Bushranger will fly down into the atmosphere and fire all twelve of its nuclear missiles at these four targets.”  
  
Click. The Command Center, Airport, Arsenal, and a huge parking lot full of military vehicles were highlighted.  
  
“I want you to shoot three missiles at each target.” Maki expounded, “That should maximize blast damage on the ground and the nuclear fallout will stop enemy troops from trying to re-occupy that ground afterward.  
  
Captain Rangi raised his hand,  
  
“Your Majesty,” he said, “The Midak won’t be able to land on Partoga because of some of the damage we took two days ago. Did you consider my request to permanently relocate some of the Midak’s crew to the Bushranger?”  
  
Maki nodded at Rangi, then pointed a finger at Anika.  
  
“Are you Commander Aranui?”  
  
Anika, surprised to be directly addressed by the Queen, stood up in a hurry, saluted and said,  
  
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty! I’m Commander Anika Aranui, second-in-command of the HMS Midak.”  
  
“Good.” Said Maki. “Effective immediately, I’m promoting you to the rank of Captain and giving you full command of the HMAS Bushranger.”  
  
This time around the applause and cheering was so loud it hurt Mira’s ears. Anika blushed and bowed so low her nose connected with Captain Rangi’s shoulder. Several members of the military got out of their seats to slap Anika on the back and shake her hand. Anika herself seemed to be star-struck. Someone slid a roll of tape and a uniform patch bearing a Captain’s insignia down the table. While the commotion died down and Anika started taping her new rank onto her uniform, Maki restarted the briefing.  
  
“So as soon as Captain Aranui and the Bushranger get clear of the nuclear shockwave,” the young Queen said, “Then the third phase starts. It will be a full barrage by all of our artillery pieces and tanks from maximum range. Admiral Apanui did the math, and he thinks that all three phases of the bombardment should kill between 75 and 80 percent of all the fighters inside Fort Miranda. Then we send in the ground forces to mop up. Does anyone have questions?”  
  
The Princess of Candon raised her hand.   
  
“Your Majesty,” she asked, “I’m sure your intentions don’t need to be stated multiple times, but this old lady wants to be absolutely sure she knows what she’s getting into. Please allow me to ask: If the Holy Father Ranginui or the False Queen survive the bombardment and... if... they are found alive by our soldiers... do... do we...?”  
  
The teenage Queen gave everyone in the room a very dark look.  
  
“ _Kill them_.” Maki said in a dangerous tone. “ _Kill both of them on sight."_

__

_  
_ The meeting ended on that note. As everyone began filtering back to their ships, Captain Rangi caught up with Mira, Moana, and Tai just outside the airlock passage leading back to the Midak.  
  
“Here,” said Rangi, “you two are going to need these.”  
  
Rangi pressed a pair of rank insignia into Moana and Tai’s hands, then he went to join Anika in the airlock. Moana nearly tore her stitches jumping for joy!  
  
“Chief Petty Officer!” Moana gasped excitedly, waving her new patch at Mira, “I get to run the ship my way now!”  
  
Tai held his new Petty Officer badge over his shoulder (covering up his Corporal badge) and said to Mira,  
  
“This looks good on me, right?”  
  
Back aboard the Midak, all of the officers and noncommissioned officers were waiting on the bridge for the Captain and his party to return. As soon as Rangi, Anika, Mira, Moana, and Tai stepped back onto the Midak’s bullet-riddled bridge, Moana yelled loudly:  
  
“THREE CHEERS FOR CAPTAIN ARANUI!!”  
  
The newly promoted Anika was mobbed by her shipmates. As soon as the hugging, handshakes, and cheering had subsided, Captain Rangi said to Captain Aranui,  
  
“Take anyone you need for the Bushranger. I’ll process the paperwork tonight and we’ll separate the ships first thing in the morning.”  
  
The two soldiers clasped hands firmly and simultaneously said:  
  
“I’ll live! I’ll die! The Green Star still rises!”  
  
Mira had heard Partogan battlecries and war songs before. She’d seen the old traditional war dances more times than she really cared to count, too. But this time, when the six-hundred year old battlecry was uttered a mere Bio from her, a chill ran up Mira’s spine.   
_  
_A precursor of what was to come.__  She knew it. _  
_

Because over half of the Midak’s crew was now dead, Anika chose to reduce the size of the Bushranger’s crew from 15 to 9.  
  
Api Eketone was pulled from the bridge crew. Ariki Ruru was drafted from the Power Plant. Lieutenant Kahumanu Ngkaukawa was ordered by Rangi to go. Tai Whiu volunteered, as did Hoto Watene, Mana Muru, and Moe Kaa, who were all from the Science Team.   
  
This left Mira, Anahera Mita, and Hoana Awika as the only scientists left aboard the Midak. Everyone else was either dead or reassigned to the Bushranger. After a few minutes of arguing, debating, and convincing, Rangi finally relented and gave permission for all three women to permanently relocate to the Bushranger, leaving the Midak with a skeleton crew of 13 men and women. The fifteenth day of the sixth month of the year 687 would be Mira’s final day aboard the HMS Midak.  
  
At the beginning of this long and brutal 15th day, Mira had been strapped to a stretcher in the Midak’s infirmary after being Psionically attacked by Manaaki Ranginui. All sixty members of the crew had been alive then. Around 4 in the morning, a bomb blast had forced the Midak out of Hyperspace as four members of the crew, including Mira’s best friend Kaia Patariki, were revealed to secretly be members of the Green Guard on a mission to take over the ship.  
  
For an hour the ship was rocked by fighting. An emergency Hyperspace Jump killed many of the crew. Gunfire did the rest. Manaaki broke into the depths of Mira’s mind and stole the Whisperers in the Void. All the while, Task Force Kikanalo was closing in on the Midak, unsure of who was in control of the ship.  
  
When the Green Guard’s attempt to take the Midak was finally foiled Mira not only discovered her mental powers for the first time, but also discovered her niece’s role in all this as the new Queen of Partoga.  
  
All of this had happened in the first 12 hours of the day.   
  
Partogan days are 36 hours long.   
  
Mira was overwhelmed, exhausted, and on the verge of breaking.  
  
She’d gone back to her crew quarters on the Midak to pack her things. For the first time in Miranda-knows-how-long, Mira pulled out the medium sized box her father had given her and set it on the bed. It was one of those awkwardly-shaped cases that had been designed to carry paperwork and not much else. Lying sideways on her bed, Mira flipped the handle with her finger absentmindedly and wondered exactly why she’d neglected to open this thing for the past two and a half years.  
  
Sitting upright, Mira decided opening the case would give her something to do besides sleep. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever wake up again if she closed her eyes for too long.  
  
Inside Mira found, just like her father had promised, a small pile of things leftover from the days when Mira’s mother had been Queen. Copies of Royal Edicts, speeches, and a large number of letters to and from various members of government.   
  
Mira’s eyes welled up with tears when she found a beautiful hand drawn sketch of Queen Kendra the Second. It had been made decades before Mira was born, when the 17th Queen of Partoga was just a teenager. She looked so awkward. Mira tucked the sketch into her pocket, intending to show it to Maki at some point.  
  
Mira was about to throw all of the papers back into the box when something else caught her eye. Underneath all of the menial paperwork and pictures, tucked away in a little pouch was a small yellow envelope. There was handwriting on the envelope that Mira couldn’t quite see. She pulled it out of the pouch and held it up to the light.  
  
The handwriting was her mother’s. It said:  
  
“ _The Last Will and Testament of Taka Mihaka, 17th Queen of Partoga, 11th Governor of the Royal Academy of Science, 10th Custodian of the Great Library, 7th Overlord of Kaitaia and Tauranga, 7th Empress of Levakia, 4th Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Triple Alliance, 3rd President of the Galactic Alliance._  
  
_Signed and sealed: 25 Haratua, 665”_  
  
The seal on the envelope was unbroken.  
  
Mira’s hands shook. Her mother had died five days after writing this...  
  
Mira broke the seal and pulled out the first of two pieces of paper. Written in Queen Kendra the Second’s refined cursive were the words:    

> _“ ʻO kaʻu kauoha ia._
> 
> _Ma hope o koʻu make_
> 
> _E hāʻawi i ka Whetu Kārerarera, koʻu nohoaliʻi, a me koʻu mana,_
> 
> _ʻOiai he makana hope loa i kuʻu kaikamahine._
> 
> _E lilo ana kaʻu kaikamahine i Mō'īwahine o kēia'āina._
> 
> _ʻO kaʻu kauoha ia._
> 
>  
> 
> _Signed,_
> 
> _Taka Mihaka, Queen of Partoga_
> 
> _25 Haratua, 665”_

  
Levakian. Freaking Levakian?! _**THE WHOLE THING WAS WRITTEN IN LEVAKIAN!?!?!**_  
  
Never before had Mira wanted to know something so badly. She cursed herself for not finding this sooner! Somehow, she just knew that this little scrap of paper held most if not all of the answers Mira needed right now! Somehow, Manaaki, the Partogan Civil War, and Prince Kahurangi were all tied to this document! She just knew it!  
  
Mira pushed her hand into the envelope and grabbed the second paper. It was much smaller, and contained a message that finally broke Mira. The tears streamed down her face uncontrolled. Mira’s whole body trembled, then she fell over sideways onto the bed, sobbing loudly.  
  
Mira’s crying was so loud that she didn’t hear the tactical alert beginning to sound. She totally missed the sounds of panicked yelling and running footsteps echoing up and down the halls of the Midak. Withdrawn completely into her own misery, Mira had completely missed the last-second discovery that was going to save her life and so many others. Had she looked out the window, Mira would have spotted the hostile Mothership as it emerged from its hiding place behind the pulverized planet below. She would have seen the Tantomile bearing down upon the entire Task Force like a Takea Shark would dive upon a school of helpless Ruki Fish.  
  
The little note had two sets of handwriting. It said,  
  
_“Mira, we cannot begin to tell you how sorry we are._  
  
_We will always love you, no matter who or what you become after I leave you. No matter what you think of us or what we’ve done, We will still love you._  
  
_We are so sorry we couldn’t do better for you._  
  
_Taka & Anaru Mihaka”_

__


	24. The Battle of Nithascal

“General quarters! General quarters! All hands, man your action stations!”

Captain Rangi’s voice, amplified over the public address system, caused Mira’s thoughts to stop circling the drain. She sat upright in her bed and finally looked out the window. She only had to gaze into the star field for a couple of seconds before she spotted the thing which had caused so much alarm:

From the asteroid field that used to be the second planet, a colossal spacecraft was ascending into view. It had a curious configuration. The entire ship appeared to have been stretched. Its command deck was separated from the engine module by a central spine that was only a few dozen Bios wide but nearly 12 Kios long. The spine itself was covered in various modules that must have served a wide variety of purposes. The only module Mira recognized on sight was a massive hanger module that seemed to double as an external construction facility. It was this hangar module that gave away the ship’s identity.

Mira was looking at the LVK Tantomile, the Mothership of the Partogan Royal Navy.

Stuffing both papers into her pocket, Mira dashed out of her quarters, scrambled up the ladder to Deck One and burst onto the bridge. All of the Midak’s officers were there, plus Queen Emily the Second, (Maki) her Kuhina Nui, and newly promoted Chief Petty Officer Moana Ranginui. Commodore Kahu Koraku was also present.

“How long until we’re inside their weapons range?!” Rangi was asking.

“Thirty minutes,” answered Lieutenant Tuu Anaru. “Maybe less.”

Captain Anika Aranui spotted Mira as she entered the room,

“Mihaka!” Anika barked, “Find Petty Officer Whiu and get down the Bushranger! We’re launching in two minutes!”

Mira nodded at Anika and was about to leave when the Hyperwave Relay suddenly spun up on the far side of the bridge and the words **PLEASE STAND BY** appeared on the viewscreen. Everyone stopped talking and Captain Rangi pressed a small red button on the armrest of his chair.

“Task Force Kikanalo, this Midak. Is anyone transmitting on the Hyperwave Frequency right now?” Rangi asked. The reply was immediate.

“Negative,” came back the voice of Admiral Apanui. “That signal’s coming from the Tantomile! We’re trying to jam it! Standby!”

A third voice came over the speakers. Mira, Rangi, Aranui, Moana, Maki, and everyone else stood rooted to the spot as a man’s voice said:

“Standby for a pre-recorded message from the legitimate elected successor to Miranda the Great, Her Royal Majesty **Miranda the Fifth** , Queen of Partoga, Custodian of the Great Library, Governor of the Royal Academy of Science, Patron of the Church of the Mountain, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Triple Alliance, President of the Galactic Alliance, Overlord of Kaitaia and Tauranga, and the Empress of Levakia!”

A pause, and then the viewscreen flickered, revealing an image that would stay with Mira for the rest of her life:

Standing in front of an unremarkable grey background was an 11-year-old girl who was far too skinny to be considered healthy. Every bone in her neck, upper torso, arms, and hands was prominently visible; as though her skin had been drawn over her skeleton with no room to spare. Like Maki, she was wearing a green dress with little gemstone studs. A green hairband pulled the girl’s snowy-white hair away from her brow and brought her sunken, cloudy eyes into focus.

It wasn’t Queen Miranda the Fifth’s physical appearance that shocked Mira, but rather, an aspect about her that only Mira could see. Something that only a Gifted individual who had mastered their Psionic powers could detect:

Queen Miranda was bound. Thin, barely-visible tendrils of Psionic energies were wrapped around Miranda. They were coiled around her wrists, upper arms, and neck before rising up and away from her, making the Queen look like an actual puppet. The translucent strings of Psi-energy converged just above Miranda’s head, where the barely visible hand of Manaaki Ranginui could only be spotted by Mira. The rest of Manaaki was also visible, but Mira had to strain to spot his transparent figure behind the False Queen.

Queen Miranda the Fifth began to speak.

“Men and women of Task Force Kikanalo.” Miranda’s voice sounded monotone and almost robotic, “You have committed treason against the Kingdom of Partoga by aligning yourself with a pretender to the throne. The punishment is death. You can escape this fate. I have instructed the crew of the Mothership to spare the lives of anyone who surrenders to them and swears their allegiance and loyalty to me.”

Manaaki twitched his hand a little, causing Miranda to hold up her left hand to the camera. Everyone on the bridge gasped! Maki swore.

Right there on Miranda’s index finger was an ornate silver ring, decorated with beautiful circular symbols on either side of a magnificent-looking emerald. It was the Whetu Kārerarera: The Green Star.

“I am the Queen of Partoga,” the 11-year-old continued in her flat voice, “There will be no one else. Surrender now and all will be forgiven.”

The viewscreen went blank. Kahu turned to face Maki.

“Your Majesty,” he said, “did the False Queen always talk like that?”

Maki nodded,

“I don’t know why....” she answered, “She just does.”

Mira knew exactly why the False Queen had been talking that way, she had learned about it in the XCOM files Moana had brought back from Earth. Manaaki had apparently mastered a rare Psionic technique that Mira had studied and read about, but had never planned on using herself.

Mira especially didn’t want to tell Maki or anyone else that what Manaaki had done to that poor girl’s mind because... it was going to be permanent.

Manaaki had placed Queen Miranda under a type of Mind Control that was not only total in its magnitude of control, but nigh impossible to break. Whatever identity or sense of self Miranda possessed beforehand had been completely crushed out of existence and was gone forever. That girl was going to be Manaaki’s puppet, both physically and mentally, for the rest of her life.

Before Mira could even begin to think about why Manaaki would resort using to such utter Psionic domination against a child, the viewscreen lit up a second time, and Admiral Apanui’s voice came over the speakers again;

“That’s still not us! The Tantomile is-“

Apanui was cut off. The viewscreen now revealed the bridge of the Tantomile. Two Partogan Royal Army officers stood side by side, looking into the camera and, therefore, directly into the Midak’s bridge. Mira recognized one of the two men on sight.

“Ruru!” She yelled, “You filthy TRAITOR!!”

Royal Army General Irawaru Ruru hadn’t changed much since the day Mira had met him in the Royal Palace two and a half years ago, at the very beginning of this story. He was still mostly bald, still too fat for his own good, and still didn’t have a uniform that could fit his massive body. General Ruru wiped the sweat from his brow and said,

“And hello to you too, Mihaka. I wasn’t expecting to see you for another five years or so. But I suppose that’s in the past now.”

General Ruru shifted his gaze from Mira to the rest of the people on the Midak’s bridge.

“In the last... oh... eight or nine minutes we have before the Tantomile comes into weapons range,” General Ruru said, “I wanted to once again-“

General Ruru stopped talking suddenly. He had spotted Maki. The 13-year-old Queen stepped in front of her aunt and folded her arms defiantly. Next to General Ruru, the other Army officer shifted uncomfortably in his feet. Curiously, Moana did a similar movement nearby. Ruru cleared his throat and then continued talking as though he hadn’t seen Maki.

“Once again,” said Ruru, “in the few minutes we have remaining, I’ll remind you all that this can end without bloodshed. Surrender is an option today. Discharge your armor and extend your docking ports to us.”

Together, Captain Rangi, Captain Aranui, Maki, Moana, Mira, and Kahu all took a few steps toward the viewscreen and stood side by side.

“I’m so sorry, General.” said Captain Rangi, “but we can’t accept your surrender at this time.”

General Ruru wasn’t expecting a response like that.

“W-What?!” he stammered.

Captain Aranui took over for her comrade.

“You heard him.” She snapped, “We don’t have the food or living space required to take you and your crew prisoner. So why don’t you just back off so we don’t have to _kill you instead_?”

General Ruru stammered for a moment, then he cut the line. As soon as the viewscreen went blank, Captain Rangi rounded on the crew.

“Charge the hull plating! Anaru! Move the Queen to Radiation Shelter One. Then get the crew ready to repel boarders! Aranui?”

Captain Aranui nodded,

“Good luck, Rangi.” She said, then yelled at the top of her voice:

“BUSHRANGER CREW!! GET BELOW NOW!!”

After Mira said a hasty goodbye to Maki, she, Moana and Lieutenant Kahumanu Ngkaukawa all darted off the bridge and started sliding down ladders, going from Deck One to Deck Four. Along the way, Mira grabbed a hairband from the Midak’s infirmary. Running down the length of Deck Four, Mira prepared herself for flight aboard the Bushranger.

Humankind had never figured out how to create artificial gravity aboard their spaceships, so once the Bushranger undocked from the Midak, it would become a low-gravity environment. As she jogged down to Radiation Shelter Three (where the Bushranger was docked) Mira tied her hair up in a simple bun, buttoned up her pockets, and tightened her bra straps as far as they would go. When Mira checked her pockets one last time to make sure they were sealed tight, she felt the two pieces of paper she’d taken from the box her father had given her.

 _Right. Don’t lose them._ Mira thought. By the time she reached the Midak-to-Bushranger airlock, Mira was ready for zero-gravity combat.

Api Eketone, Eru Tawhiti, Hoto Watene, Mana Muru, Moe Kaa, Ariki Ruru, Hoana Awika, Anahera Mita, and Tai Whiu were already aboard the Bushranger when Mira arrived.

“Ranginui! Close the airlock and cut the umbilical!” Anika ordered, “Then go fire up the power plant! Eketone and Tawhiti! You’re in the cockpit with me! Watene, Kaa, Whiu and Mihaka: Gunner seats! Muru, man the sensors! Awika and Mita, damage control!”

A general chorus of “yes ma’am!” went around the ship as everyone reported to their stations. Mira sat down next to Tai inside the forward fuselage in the dual starboard gunner seats, while Hoto and Moe took the port seats. Mira slammed the airlock door and threw a small lever that disconnected the Bushranger’s fuel, air, and power supplies from the Midak. Admiral Apanui’s voice threw itself into Mira’s ear as she donned a small headset that would allow her to listen to both fleet communications and inter-ship comms.

“All ships, this is Admiral Apanui aboard the HMS Dervish. We have assumed flagship position! All Strike Groups, report in!”

One by one, Strike Group commanders began reporting in:

“Strike Group Ghekula: six Assault Frigates, lead ship HMS Dervish, Commodore Hei standing by.”

“Strike Group Kinloka: six Assault Frigates, lead ship HMS Necrofinch, Commodore Kopunui standing by.”

“Strike Group Kavinika: five Assault Frigates, lead ship HMS Valiant, Commodore Tukino standing by.”

“Strike Group Hikaki: five Assault Frigates, lead ship HMS Nova, Commodore Karawana standing by.”

“Strike Group Muaka: four Ion Cannon Frigates, lead ship HMS Firelance, Commodore Kaa standing by.”

“Strike Group Gadunka: four Ion Cannon Frigates, lead ship HMS Sunray, Commodore Hakiwai standing by.”

Then, Captain Aranui’s voice sounded both from the cockpit and in Mira’s headset as she spoke,

“Strike Group Tarakava: one gunship and one science vessel, lead ship HMAS Bushranger, Captain Aranui standing by!”

With a massive lurch and much groaning of metal, the Bushranger separated from the Midak and fell away from the battered science ship. Moana’s voice sounded in Mira’s headset:

“Power plant online!”

The four targeting computers that Mira, Hoto, Moe, and Tai were going to use powered up. Mira knew that somewhere else in the ship, Mana was feeding her computer a constant stream of sensor data. All four gunners placed their hands on the joysticks which controlled their respective turret. Looking at her screen, Mira saw that she was controlling the dorsal (topside) turret above the cockpit. She had a perfect view of the Task Force and the Midak. Then a big red blob obscured part of her screen.

“I have eyes on the Tantomile!” Mira called out,

“Look at the size of that thing!” gasped a voice over the radio.

The Mothership was flying sideways through space as it bore down on the Task Force, so that her vulnerable hangar bay faced away from enemy guns. This meant that the Tantomile’s entire dorsal side was pointing towards the Bushranger and her allies. And any guns located on the Tantomile’s topside were also facing the same direction.

“Two minutes to weapons range!” Called the commander of the Firelance,

“Strike Groups Muaka and Gadunka, this is Flagship,” said Admiral Apanui’s voice, “Get set up for your attack run on the Tantomile’s vital subsystems. Everyone else, run interference.”

Anika threw down the throttle and the Bushranger’s engines roared to life! The Human gunship was lighter and faster than the heavier Partogan Corvettes, even though its nuclear propulsion system was primitive in comparison to the more advanced Ion Engines being used by the Partogan ships. In moments, the Bushranger had covered the distance between itself and the Royal Navy Task Force.

Thirty-one little warships screamed towards the gargantuan Mothership at maximum speed! There were 10,000 Kios between the two opposing forces!

“Charge the armor plating!” Anika ordered, “Gunners, load armor-piercing rounds!”

5,000 Kios!

Mira counted her ammunition one last time: 110 armor-piercing rounds and 75 high-explosive shells.

2,500 Kios!

“Be advised!” Called out the commander of the HMS Nova, “The Tantomile has charged armor and is powering up her Railguns!”

1,000 Kios!

“We’re in weapons range!” Anika yelled, and Admiral Apanui answered,

“Ion Cannon Frigates! FIRE AT WILL!!”

Eight particle accelerators projected millions upon millions of charged Ions towards the Tantomile at just under the speed of light! The bright blue beams connected with the Mothership and were soaked into her armor!

At once, the Tantomile returned fire! Hundreds of Mass Driver and Railgun rounds careened towards the Task Force. Like a constellation of fast-moving stars, the deadly projectiles flew between the small attackers. One round struck an Assault Frigate and ricocheted off into deep space.

And then they were in the thick of it! Mira was thrust one way in her seat and then the other as Anika maneuvered the Bushranger hard and fast! Mira, Moe, Tai, and Hoto swiveled all four of the Bushranger’s turrets towards the Tantomile.

“Fire at will!” Anika ordered,

Mira filled her targeting screen with a section of the Tantomile’s hull and squeezed the trigger! Moe, Tai, and Hoto did the same. _THUNK! THUNK!_ The Bushranger vibrated with each shot. Mira watched her targeting screen and saw four small dents had appeared in the Mothership’s flank, followed quickly by several hundred more as the Assault Frigates and Ion Cannon Frigates loosed another salvo. The Tantomile’s armor was still fully charged. It was going to take a serious amount of punishment to actually rupture it.

Flying in groups of five or six, the Assault Frigates (and the Bushranger) began to pummel the Tantomile’s dorsal hull. Then, after the Task Force had spent some thirty seconds pouring fire into the Tantomile, Commodore Kahu Koraku’s voice came through over Mira’s headset,

“Strike craft launching from the Tantomile! They look like old Silvestris-class heavy fighters!”

“How many fighters?!” Responded a Strike Group leader,

“Two hundred!” Commodore Koraku responded, “They’re about to come ‘round the Mothership’s port side! THEY’RE ABOVE YOU!

Mira quickly swung her turret around to face the Mothership’s port flank. A cloud of little silver points was growing bigger with every second!

“Assault Frigates and Bushranger!” Called out Admiral Apanui, “Engage the fighters! Keep them off the Ion Cannons!”

The fighting was now too fast-paced for Mira to keep up. The Assault Frigates were able to lay down a screen of anti-fighter fire for only a few seconds before the cloud became a swarm, and the Task Force became enveloped in a storm of shrapnel.

Two Assault Frigates were annihilated almost immediately, and Anika had to perform a disorienting roll to prevent the Bushranger being peppered with debris. Mira and her fellow gunners disengaged from the Tantomile completely and were now solely focused on taking down the fighters.

A squadron of five enemy strike craft turned abruptly and made an attack run on the Bushranger! Mira saw them coming and fired four high-explosive rounds. Three missed, but one connected with its target! The explosive shell detonated, and the shrapnel from both the destroyed fighter and the round itself shredded the entire squadron!

“Scratch five!” Mira yelled,

“Dozens to go!” Tai yelled back, “Don’t lose your head yet!”

The Bushranger performed another dangerous maneuver, flying only a few Bios above the Tantomile’s armor plating! Mira and Tai fired on the fighters above while Moe and Hoto poured armor piercing rounds into the Mothership. Anika pulled the Bushranger up just in time to see an Ion Cannon Frigate explode into millions of little pieces!

“HARD A ’STARBOARD!” Anika screamed, and Api wrenched on the flight controls, pulling the Bushranger away from the wreckage. The Tantomile filled the cockpit’s viewscreen!

“The mothership is moving!” reported an Assault Frigate captain, “It’s making a run at the Midak!”

“They’re going for the Queen!” Admiral Apanui yelled, “Muaka and Gadunka, take out her engines!”

The seven remaining Ion Cannon Frigates maneuvered around to the Mothership’s stern and began to realign themselves. Because Ion Cannons are very long weapons, and the entire ship is simply wrapped around them, the frigate needs to face its target in order to use its one and only weapon. Before the ships could re-orient themselves, a swarm of fighters descended upon them!

“We’ve getting torn apart up here!” someone hollered over the comms channel before three of the Ion Cannon Frigates were torn asunder!

Without waiting for orders, Anika pulled the Bushranger out of formation and doubled back to help out their stricken allies. Mira and the other gunners loaded high-explosive rounds and started tearing into the enemy fighter craft. As the Bushranger pulled the fighters away from the more vulnerable targets, the four surviving Ion Cannon Frigates were unleashed upon the Tantomile!

“Flagship, this is Firelance, we’re starting our attack run now!”

The Bushranger suddenly flew through a cloud of debris! The sound of thousands of little pieces of shrapnel colliding with the armor reminded Mira of a powerful hailstorm. She quickly swiveled her turret around, looking through the external cameras to get her bearings on the battle. 

Both the Tantomile and Task Force Kikanalo had taken a beating. Disabled and destroyed ships spun helplessly through the void, and clouds of debris were so think they’d become opaque. While on the other side of the coin, the Mothership’s armor had finally been ruptured, revealing the decks, rooms, and facilities within. The swarm of two hundred hostile fighters had been worn down to just over a dozen scattered fighters by the overwhelming fire of the Assault Frigates.

Someone up the chain of command had noticed the lack of fighter cover as well.

“Flagship calling fleet!” Admiral Apanui signaled, “Press the attack! CONCENTRATE ALL FIRE ON THE TANTOMILE!”

“Do what he says!” Anika called from the cockpit, “Load armor piercing rounds and light’em up!”

Mira, Hotu, Moe, and Tai all swiveled their turrets around and began firing into the Tantomile’s flank. The remaining ships in the Task Force did the same, although the Assault Frigates spared one or two turrets each to fend off the remaining fighters.

Hundreds of thousands of projectiles thundered down upon the Mothership! The small cracks in her armor became fissures, her maneuvering thrusters flickered as their fuel lines were cut, and her turrets seemed to be firing less frequently as well. Aboard the Bushranger, Mira had just allowed the thought “ _We’re close”_ to cross her mind when next to her, Tai yelled:

“I’m red on ammo!” Tai called out, followed quickly by Hotu and Moe.

Mira flipped a switch on her console that revealed how much ammunition she had left:

11 armor-piercing rounds, 4 high-explosive rounds.

Mira added her own voice to the chorus:

“Red on ammo!”

Then the floodwaters came in:

“This is the Nova, we’re running out of ammunition!”

“Fifteen rounds!” announced another voice, followed closely by another one:

“This is the Firelance, we’re starting to overheat! Unable to sustain rate of fire!”

“We’re on our last magazine!” cried one more. “Then we’re out!”

The bombardment lasted only thirty more seconds. One by one, the ships of Task Force Kikanalo stopped firing as their weapons ran out of ammunition. First the Assault Frigates fell silent, then the Bushranger as Mira fired her last shell, and then finally the HMS Firelance, the only Ion Cannon Frigate still flying, began to pull back as her main weapon overheated and shut down.

But the Tantomile, being a massive city-sized spacecraft, had plenty of ammunition and was in no danger of running out. Her mass drivers and railguns continued to pour fire into the Task Force as the ammo-starved warships began to scatter!

“This is Flagship!” Admiral Apanui said over the radio, “I want weapons checks!”

“Nova! We’re black on ammo and we can’t get clear! We’re launching a marker beacon to coordin-“

The captain of the Nova was cut off as his ship was obliterated by a Railgun slug fired from the Tantomile. Mira watched her screen with a sense of rising dread as the Tantomile began picking off targets one by one. Two, three, four more Assault Frigates were reduced to scrap by the Mothership!

“Aranui!” yelled Tai from Mira’s left, “We still have our nukes! Let’s use’em!”

“Negative!” Anika called back from the cockpit, “We have to save those for Fort Miranda when we get home!”

Tai started to respond, but as another Assault Frigate exploded nearby, Mira cut him off,

“We’re not going home if this keeps up, Aranui! This is our last chance!!”

Moe Kaa chimed in,

“The rest of the Task Force is backing off! It’s now or never!”

Anika swore,

“Hang on everyone!”

The Bushranger banked hard and began diving towards the Tantomile! From the cockpit, Anika pushed a series of buttons on the control panel in front of her, and at once, a very loud alarm began to sound, followed up by a computerized voice saying:

“WARNING: NUCLEAR WARHEADS HAVE BEEN ARMED.”

Anika then called the rest of the fleet,

“Bushranger calling all ships! Put your blast screens down! We’re going nuclear in five! Four! Three! Two! One!”

A loud hissing noise came from somewhere to Mira’s right as an anti-ship missile separated from the Bushranger and fired up its engine! The missile, tipped with a 20 Megaton nuclear explosive, hurtled towards the Mothership as Anika reported to the fleet:

“Bird away! Time to impact, seven seconds! Dropping blast screens!”

There was a loud metallic noise and all of the Bushranger’s windows were blacked out up as metal covers slid into place.

“Detonation in three! Two! One! MARK!”

The Bushranger shook violently, throwing Mira against Tai as the gunship was caught and thrown about by the blast. As soon as the shaking stopped, Anika yelled,

“That’s a negative impact! Mothership is still active and we’ve got incoming fire!”

Both the Tantomile and her surviving fighter escorts were now concentrating all fire on the Bushranger. The intense thermal radiation of the nuclear explosion had been absorbed by the Mothership’s armor, which now glowed white-hot despite being exposed to the vacuum of space. Thousands of Mass Driver rounds descended upon the Bushranger, and no amount of clever maneuvering was going to save the little gunship now.

_WHAM!_

The Bushranger caught a railgun slug in its midsection and lurched violently!

_TING! TINGTING!! T-T-T-T-TING!_

Dozens of Mass Driver rounds impacted the hull, producing an even louder rendition of that hailstorm sound. Mira pulled herself up and out of Tai’s lap. Through her targeting screen, she saw five fighters on the Bushranger’s tail. The hull of the Tantomile raced by on one side of the screen. Anika was skimming the surface of the Mothership, stopping the Tantomile crew from bringing their guns to bear. Mira looked at the Tantomile’s hull on her screen, and then she got an idea.

“Aranui!” she yelled, “take us around to the far side!”

“What?!” Captain Aranui replied, “The far side?”

“Yeah!” Mira answered, “Ram a nuke down the Tantomile’s hangar bay!”

Anika understood the plan at once. She got on the radio.

“Bushranger calling all ships!” she said “Get these damn fighters off us for a few seconds! We’re gonna nuke the hangar bay!”

As the Bushranger maneuvered around the Tantomile’s hull, the Dervish, despite being out of ammo, turned around and rejoined the fight. It was a bizzare line of ships that flew just above the Tantomile. The Bushranger, being chased by five fighters, the fighters being chased by the Dervish. Looking over to Tai’s targeting screen, Mira saw the Dervish swivel her Mass Driver turrets threateningly.

It was all they needed. The squadron of fighters broke off their pursuit and scattered for fear of being picked off by the Dervish.     

              

The Bushranger cleared the Tantomile’s last remaining guns and found itself on the Mothership’s ventral side. The big, vulnerable hangar bay hung beneath the Mothership’s central spine like a handbag from an unattended chair, just waiting for someone to take advantage. Mira heard another loud hiss, this time from her left side!

“Bird away! Time to impact, five seconds!”

Mira shut down her turret camera about half a second after the missile soared into a docking bay, penetrated the inside wall and vanished from sight. Somewhere deep inside the Tantomile, the 20-Megaton nuclear warhead detonated!

This time the Bushranger shook with incredible violence! They’d been a little too close to the blast, and the Bushranger’s armor struggled to soak up the vast amounts of thermal radiation generated by the detonation. Mira’s joystick became hot to the touch and she relinquished it at once. Similar gasps of surprise and pain told her that something similar had happened throughout the rest of the Bushranger.

Then… for the first time in what felt like an eternity, there was finally silence. Mira deactivated the blast screen on her window and looked outside, seeing the result of the battle with her own eyes: 

It was sickening. The Tantomile, gutted from the inside by a thermonuclear explosion, spun grotesquely through space surrounded by a dense cloud of wreckage blown out every possible window, docking port, or other structural weak point. All two hundred of her fighter escorts were destroyed, either blown into fragments or reduced to twisted metal hulks.

Only four Task Force ships were still flying. A lone Ion Cannon Frigate limped its way back to the three surviving Assault Frigates, all of whom were very badly battered.

The Midak was some distance away, having fled at the start of the fight, but she was now turning around to rejoin the Task Force.

“This is Flag- uh, Dervish calling all ships.” Said Admiral Apanui’s voice over the comms network, “Who’s not dead? Everyone sound off with your ID and weapon status.”

“This is Tempest, we’re out of ammunition.”

“Acolyte here. Black on ammo”

“Firelance calling. Weapon damaged due to overheating.”

And that was it. There was no one else left. As the Bushranger and Midak fell into line, the Admiral asked for damage and casualty reports. Only the Midak had escaped unharmed.

The Dervish had been hit over 30 times and had two dead, five wounded.

The Acolyte had been hit almost 45 times and a quarter of her crew was dead or missing.

The Firelance had taken some 19 or 20 hits, lost 4 crew members, and suffered the destruction of her one and only weapon.

But it was the HMS Tempest who had suffered the most. She had been hit over 120 times and nearly half of her crew was dead. The captain of the Tempest declared the ship to be a total loss. The Midak swooped down and docked with the Tempest, taking away her remaining crew before the ship itself was scuttled and left behind.

At some point during the evacuation, Maki got onto the Midak’s Hyperwave Relay and called the Bushranger, demanding to know if Mira was okay and asking to see her. Once the Midak pulled away from the corpse of the Tempest, the Bushranger flew in and docked with the Midak. As the shaken and exhausted crew departed the little gunship and returned to the Midak, the small group of warships turned towards their homeworld once again.

It was chaos aboard the Midak. When the 29 crew members of the science ship were combined with the 12 surviving members of the Tempest crew, it was almost like the Midak had a full population again. Mira suddenly found her old quarters had been taken over by the last female Tempest shipmate, a skittish and possibly traumatized woman named Erana. Mira decided to let Erana get settled into the crew quarters by herself and went for a walk around the Midak to clear her mind.

How had she managed to stay sane after witnessing so much death and destruction, after nearly being killed herself multiple times in just the past two and a half days? Why hadn’t Mira just... snapped?

If war was like this all the time, then Mira felt truly sorry for all of the fighters who had survived the day’s action, or indeed, the past year-and-a-half of this conflict. Mira certainly wasn’t strong enough to put up with this kind of stress for months or years.

Was that it?

Mira stopped walking, coming to a halt inside the old Engineering Lab on Deck Three. A new pattern of thoughts, theories, and potential explanations had just exploded into Mira’s mind. She remembered what few scraps of information the Whisperers in the Void had given to her about Manaaki Ranginui and his actions on Partoga.

He was starting to have trouble controlling the Eater of Worlds, she remembered that. The monster’s Psionic influence was bleeding into other fighters, wasn’t it? So... what if...

 _What if Manaaki knew he was losing control of the Eater of Worlds?_ Mira asked herself. And then she answered her own question. _I’d find some way to increase or expand my powers._

A working theory began to grow in Mira’s mind. What if Manaaki had stolen the Whisperers in the Void from Mira with the express purpose of keeping the Eater of Worlds in check?

Except... no.

Manaaki definitely saw the Whisperers in the Void trying to fight the Eater of Worlds during Mira’s second entry into the Shroud. The best the Whisperers had been able to do was slow down the Eater for a few seconds at best. It wasn’t the best choice for a combatant.

Like any good scientist, Mira threw out her bad hypothesis and started on another one, pacing the lab as she did so.

What if... What if... And then she had it!

Mira’s new idea was based on one simple assumption: That a certain statement the Whisperers in the Void had once told her was absolutely true. During Mira’s visit to Mazama Monastery on Earth, they had told Mira about how a massive amount of energy was required to enter the Shroud.

Perhaps Manaaki really did want another Shroud-being to check the Eater of Worlds, but he may not have had enough energy to get into the Shroud, so stealing the Whisperers in the Void would have been the next logical course of action!

Mira’s heart was pounding. She wished her tablet computer still worked so she could put all of this down in a log!

Manaaki would then force the Whisperers in the Void to reveal how to get into the Shroud using less energy... and then...

Oh, no.

Mira stopped pacing. She had never asked if it was possible to form a covenant with more than one Shroud-Being. She’d never considered it, but someone as greedy as Manaaki might not shake hands with these creatures. He might just take what he wanted instead.

Manaaki Ranginui already had control of two beings from the Shroud. This made him an exceedingly dangerous opponent for Mira to face down. If he had three or more... then he might actually be invincible!

Mira quickly counted on her fingers. The Instrument of Desire and the Composer of Strands were both still in the Shroud. If Manaaki got his hands on one or both of them, Mira would stand no chance against him in a fight, let alone anyone else.

Mira needed to get inside the Shroud, RIGHT NOW. She needed to claim at least one of the two remaining Shroud-Beings for herself in order to stand a fraction of a chance against the Holy Father when the time came to confront him. Preferably, she’d want the Composer of Strands, but given the desperate situation, Mira would take whoever was left with no questions asked.

But how? Mira had never gotten into the Shroud under her own power before. Mira still didn’t know how the first incursion had happened, but the second time, the Abbess of Mazama Monastery had done all the work.

_A massive amount of energy..._

There was one thing aboard the Midak which could do something like that.

As soon as the idea came to Mira, she had a sudden flashback. The corpse of Maia Maaka was suddenly in front of her again. Her final, desperate pleads echoing in the back of Mira’s mind. Mira shook her head. The only way this insane plan would work was if Mira suddenly discovered a way to survive...

Mira froze.

She had discovered a way to survive an unshielded Hyperspace Jump! She’d discovered it over a year and a half ago! It had been aboard the Midak this whole time! Mira frantically ran into the Biology Lab, grabbed a computer and pulled up a list. She saw the names of the Midak crewmates who’d been infected with the extremophile bacteria “Anaplague.” Mira was Number 16 on the list! That tough little microbe might still be running around in her own blood!

Mira ran to a computer console embedded in the wall and hit a button labelled “Dial Bridge.” There was a soft tone.

“Biology Lab calling Bridge!” Mira said into the microphone.

“Mihaka?” replied Captain Rangi’s voice, “Good to hear from you. I wanted to ask you-“

“Sir, there’s no time!” Mira cut him off, “How long do we have until the next Hyperspace Jump? I need to run a quick experiment!”

“Uh...” Rangi’s voice was full of hesitation, “About three hours... but I thought we were beyond doing science experiments after everything that-“

Mira cut across him again,

“Sir! This is important! Find Chief Petty Officer Moana Ranginui and Acting Medic Anahera Mita and send them to the Biology Lab immediately!”

Two hours and fifty minutes later, Mira repeated her plan to Moana and Anahera for the umpteenth time, feeling that she’d finally gotten them to understand what she wanted to happen.

“When the jump happens,” Mira repeated, “I’m going to siphon some waste energy off the Hyperspace Module into my Gauntlets. It should be enough for me to get into the Shroud for a few minutes. As soon as the jump is over, you both get in there and resuscitate me.”

Anahera, who didn’t know Mira was Gifted until two hours ago, put her head in her hands and sighed. She restated Mira’s words aloud so she could understand them better;

“You’re going to use the Hyperspace Module to do magic... while it pumps you full of nearly 1,000 Roentgens of Gamma Radiation _PER SECOND._.. and then you want us to come in and resuscitate your crazy suicidal ass even though you think you’re not going to die at all because of... a combination of Microbiology and magic. Do I have it right?”

Moana had come to accept Mira’s Gift and all the baggage that came with it some time ago. She just pressed on with her own line of questioning.

“Are you sure,” Moana asked, “that the Anaplague can keep you alive in there?”

Mira nodded and held up the blood test results from an hour ago.

“The Anaplague is a little less prevalent in my bloodstream than the blood itself. I’ll boost its protective abilities with my own powers, kinda like giving the shield a shield of its own. It’s no guarantee I’ll survive, though. That’s why I need you. Get me that Nanomedikit as quick as you can.”

Moana and Anahera nodded.

“Alright.” Said Anahera, “Let’s get this over with.”

As the Trio climbed down to the Hyperspace Module, the ship went on Hyperspace Alert. Alarms and claxons sounded. Crew members made their way to their assigned Radiation Shelters, and Mira, Moana, and Anahera entered the Hyperspace Module.

Inside a complicated web of pipes, wires, and struts, the spherical core of the Hyperspace Module hummed gently in its housing. Moana tapped a computer screen.

“Captain,” she said nervously, “There’s a computer bug down here causing problems. I need to disable the Safety Interrupt for this Jump.”

“Understood,” Replied Rangi, “You’re ‘go’ to disable the Safety System.”

Moana typed _Cmd_usr/ Disable safety interrupt. Authorization: Chief Petty Officer Moana Ranginui – Partogan Royal Navy_ into the computer, then turned to face Mira.

“We’ll be in this Radiation Shelter,” she said, pointing to the nearby door. “We’re coming for you as soon as the jump is over, not a second more. Clear?”

Mira nodded.

“Sounds good to me.”

As Moana and Anahera closed the door of Radiation Shelter 4 behind them, Mira looked down at her Celestial Gauntlets. They were charged with her own stockpiled Psi energy. Mira had read about how the Human Templars would use their powers to protect themselves from harm. Mira had actually used that power on a small scale during the Green Guard’s attempted takeover of the Midak, but she’d never tried anything on this scale.

There was only one way to see if this would work. Mira put both of her Gauntlet-covered hands on the core itself. It began to hum even louder as it spooled up.

_Initiating Hyperspace Jump in five, four_

Mira focused her mind intensely, summoning up as much of her powers as she could.

_Three, two,_

The Celestial Gauntlets activated, and Mira’s whole body was enveloped in swirling ribbons of Psionic energy. They extended out and away from Mira until they struck the walls of the Module, giving Mira the appearance of being at the center of a plasma storm!

_One._

Through her Celestial Gauntlets, Mira drew in all of the waste heat bleeding off the core and repurposed it with some of her pent-up power. Ignoring thousands upon thousands of stray ionized particles striking her body like a sandblaster, Mira breached the Shroud! 

It took Mira a few moments to get her bearings. She had arrived in a place that was both foreign and strangely familiar. Mira stood on the precipice, at the edge of this strange new realm for a moment overlooking a vast ocean of swirling color and shadow. Then Mira remembered: _I don’t have a lot of time. I gotta get going._

She didn’t remember where she had encountered the Composer of Strands or the Instrument of Desire before, but that didn’t matter. In less than a minute Mira had sprinted thousands of Kios, having grown fully accustomed to the strange properties of this place and taking advantage of them. Mira ran into deep gorges and valleys, dashed up the highest mountains, crossed wide plains, and found the outermost edges of the world, where the Shroud slowly started to transition into some other plane of reality Mira didn’t have time to explore.

After what felt like four or five minutes, Mira sat down in the dirt, panting. She had revisited all of the parts of the Shroud she’d been to before. She had discovered and searched through several new ones as well. She’d combed tens of thousands of Kios in every direction, and there was no sign of the Instrument of Desire or the Composer of Strands.

 _It can’t be possible._ Mira thought. An evil voice in the back of her mind answered. _Why can’t it be possible?_

Mira was forced to accept the truth. The Shroud was empty. Manaaki Ranginui had gotten here first and he had taken both of the remaining Shroud-Beings. Whether by consent or force didn’t matter at all. They were gone.

The full weight and implications of the upcoming final battle hit Mira like a ton of bricks. Four depleted warships and three hundred thousand inexperienced volunteer soldiers were about to go to battle against some 50,000 elite warriors who were trained from a young age to win against greater odds than this.

And alongside that Mira, an untrained amateur Psychic, faced the prospect of confronting Manaaki Ranginui at the height of his power. With the Instrument of Desire, the Composer of Strands, the Eater of Worlds, and the Whisperers in the Void all at his side, Manaaki must have acquired near godlike powers by now.

Mira brought her knees up to her chin and shivered with terror. Perhaps this was how an ant felt as the boot came down.

 _It’s over._ Mira thought. _Manaaki won._ _I can’t fight him now._

Perhaps it would be better if Mira just died now. If the radiation from the Hyperspace Module took her life right at this moment, Mira wouldn’t complain. Anything would be preferable to the nightmare which awaited inside the halls of Fort Miranda.

 _But Maki will have to face that nightmare._ _So will Rangi, Anika, Moana, Tai, and all the others. They’re all going to fight Manaaki. And they’re all going to die._

Mira had a choice. She could wait here in the Shroud until her body succumbed to Radiation exposure back in Normal Space, or she could go back and be with her niece and friends right up to the end.

She looked up towards the purple horizon. The spot where Jericho had died was over there somewhere. She had said something about not wanting to die alone. Mira decided she didn’t want that either. Mira stood and prepared to walk back to the spot where she’d entered the Shroud from. She was ready to face her destiny.

Mira had only gone a couple of paces though, when she noticed it.

The presence was not waiting for Manaaki Ranginui, therefore he had passed over it without ever being aware of its existence. The presence was waiting for Mira and no one else. It had always been waiting for her.

Mira turned her head to face a dense purple fogbank. It was similar to the one that had once contained the Whisperers in the Void. From the fog, three illusory copies of Mira emerged. Mira knew at once that they were illusions, but she didn’t know how she knew that. The three copies of Mira were all radically different from each other, and yet they had one thing in common:

They were victorious.

The First Copy of Mira was outfitted in a beautiful royal dress that shone and sparkled like a moonlit ocean. She was significantly older than Mira, her face was wrinkled, her hair had lost its silver color and was fading to grey, but she had a peaceful smile on her face. In each hand she held one half of a broken rifle: the barrel and chamber was in her right hand, while the stock and trigger were in her left. Psionic power, warm and comforting, radiated gently away from this alternate person. The First Copy of Mira said in a gentle, soothing voice:

“It took an incredibly long time, but with patience, tact, and diplomacy, I resolved the conflict peacefully and brought about an outcome that saved lives, made people happy, and placed Maki on the throne with almost no bloodshed. Absolutely no one needed to die, and I made sure of it.”

The Second Copy of Mira wore more practical clothing: a dark shirt, cargo pants, and combat boots. She appeared to be roughly the same age as Mira if not a little older. In one hand she held another broken rifle, while in the other hand was a book, into which she had place a white poppy flower in place of a bookmark. This version of Mira looked like she was at peace with herself, yet she still seemed to be haunted by a dark memory. Her Psionic energies were so contained that they were barely noticeable. She spoke in a tired, resigned voice:

“Maki is Queen and no one challenges her anymore. I did what I head to do to win. Nothing more.”

The Third Copy of Mira was the most frightening. Exactly the same age as Mira, she wore a battle dress made from leather and chainmail. Her arms, chest, and face were splattered with blood, as was the sword she gripped tightly in one hand. In the other hand, smoke curled up and away from the barrel of a fully functional rifle. This version of Mira had no regrets, no second thoughts about what she’d done. Cold, harsh, and violent Psionic energy simmered up and away from her. Spitting blood, she said;

“I beat Manaaki. I don’t give a _damn_ what it cost because I won, Maki’s Queen, and Manaaki’s dead.”

The presence was offering Mira a choice. All three of these outcomes were possible. Perhaps there might even be others.

Mira stood there, gazing at each possible outcome in turn. She was vaguely aware of other copies of herself shuffling about in the fog, but it was impossible to make them out. Behind Mira, the presence waited patiently.

The offer hadn’t changed. All Mira had to do was say **_yes_ ** or **_no_**.

_**IT IS NOT YET YOUR TIME.** _

_**BUT IT COULD BE.** _

        


	25. Ending at the Beginning

“She was holding it?! Holding the core in both hands?!”

Maki wasn’t expecting anyone to answer her. She was still in a state of shock and disbelief. The young Queen was sitting on a stool in the Midak’s infirmary next to her Aunt Mira, who had been unconscious ever since the Hyperspace Jump an hour ago. While Maki held on to one of Mira’s hands tightly, the other was being gripped by Tai and Moana, both of whom looked shaken. On the other side of the room the two Captains, Rangi and Aranui, were in deep conversation with Kahu, Admiral Apanui, and Kahu’s father, Prince Kahurangi.

An incident like this couldn’t be explained away. Moana and Anahera had given Captain Rangi the go-ahead to reveal Mira’s Psionic powers to his superiors and a very select number of lower officers. Word had gone up the chain of command until Maki had finally been made aware of the situation.

Several people had tried to stop the teenage ruler from entering the infirmary, saying that “radiation burn victims look like nightmare-people” and “you’ll get sick just looking at her.” Maki didn’t care. For the foreseeable future, Mira was her only family, and Maki was going to see her no matter what.

Maki had never believed in magic, but this personal conviction was thrown into doubt when she saw Mira lying on that gurney. Her Aunt had no radiation burns, her blood hadn’t boiled away, her skin was unbroken, every hair on her head remained attached, and most importantly of all: Mira wasn’t dead. Aside from the fact that she was in a coma-like state, there was nothing wrong with Mira at all.

“It’s never happened before,” said Acting Medic Anahera Mita, who was looking at a computer readout of Mira’s heart rate. “Never, in the history of spaceflight has someone survived direct physical contact with an active Hyperdrive system, let alone its core! We’ll be studying this data for decades!”

Maki didn’t care. She wanted to know why Mira wasn’t waking up.

The Prince broke off from the group and moved to stand at Mira’s bedside. He put a hand on Mira’s arm for a moment before he spotted Maki looking at him and withdrawing it. The elderly Prince cast around for something to say;

“I never would have imagined it. Never even thought it possible. I mean of course, we all heard stories of Levakian Witches during the old Uprising, or of the Human Templars and ADVENT’s Avatar Project during the Second Hyperspace War. I never... ever thought that one day a Partogan might receive the Gift. But... why her?”

Moana shuffled uncomfortably on the spot. When she spoke, she didn’t address anyone in particular. Her eyes remained locked on the right-hand cargo pocket of Mira’s pant leg.

“She was acting different the last couple days. Manaaki Ranginui was attacking her telepathically, and I think-“

Captain Rangi looked over at Moana,

“Is that what was wrong with her?” He asked, “When she collapsed right before we tried to take the bridge back?”

Moana nodded without looking at him. Maki had noticed Moana’s lack of attention and started slowly making her way to the other side of the bed. Moana slid to one side and didn’t say anything as Maki stood close to her. Maki was about to say something when she heard Moana whisper a nearly silent command:

“Tai. Distract Koraku.”

Tai broke from the group immediately and touched Prince Kahurangi on the shoulder,

“Your Highness,” he asked quietly, “May I ask you something?”

While Tai and Prince Kahurangi moved off, Moana nudged Maki and whispered,

“You see it too, right?”

Maki nodded very slowly. She too had spotted the piece of paper sticking partway out of Mira’s cargo pocket with the words _Last will and t-_ just barely visible. Moana started to reach out for it while Maki turned her head towards the other people in the room.

“Go.”

Moana snatched the sheet out of Mira’s pocket swiftly and silently. Maki spoke to Admiral Apanui at the same moment,

“Admiral, how much longer until we’re in orbit above the Homeworld? Go check on the fleet’s progress.”

Apanui nodded to her.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Right away.” He replied.

He took Rangi and Aranui with him to the bridge. About a minute after they reached the top of the ladder to Deck One, Aranui called down to the infirmary:

“Koraku! Get up here! The Dervish is calling for you!”

Kahu left as well. It was just Maki, Moana, Tai, Prince Kahurangi, and Anahera left in the infirmary now. Somehow, Tai had managed to start up a conversation about the Visonia Principality. (Which was ruled by Kahurangi) Tai knew that Anahera was from that part of the Kingdom and after the slightest provocation she joined the conversation, allowing Tai stealthily slip away, leaving Prince Kahurangi to answer a barrage of questions from his subject.

Tai rejoined Maki and Moana by Mira’s bed. They formed a small huddle and looked down at the scrap of paper Moana had retrieved.

“Last will and testament of Taka Mihaka?” Tai read quietly so Kahurangi wouldn’t hear. “Is she part of your family, Your Majesty?”

Maki nodded,

“She was my Grandmother and Mira’s mom.” Maki explained, “She was Queen Kendra the Second.”

Moana stared at Kendra’s will and traced her finger over the Levakian letters.

“Why didn’t she just write in Partogan?” Moana wondered aloud. “Wouldn’t she want _everyone_ to read it?”

The three of them stared at the paper for a little while longer. Then Tai abruptly started!

“Wait a minute!” he hissed, “Moana, remember when we were observing Amadiio?”

“Yes.”

“The giant Levakian writing on the ground?”

“I remember.”

“Who was the guy that knew how to read Levakian?”

But before Moana could answer, Maki saw a big shadow cross the periphery of her vision, she nudged Moana and hissed:

“Look out!”

“Read Levakian?” Repeated Prince Kahurangi, “You must be talking about my son! Kahu is trilingual, you know. Partogan, Levakian, the Galactic Common. He even started learning a couple of Human languages after Mira published _Fate of the Savior._ Let me go get him for you!”

“Oh no!” said Tai quickly, “You don’t need to do that! We’re fine!”

But it was too late. Prince Kahurangi was already up the ladder, sticking his head up into Deck One and calling for his son. Moana, Tai, and Maki all gave each other panicked looks.

“What do we do?” Moana hissed,

Both she and Tai looked at Maki, who stumbled over her words at first when she struggled to make a plan, but quickly recovered as one came to mind.

“W-w-we- we tell him it’s mine. It’s a keepsake Mira gave me before she left.”

“He might not buy that,” Tai warned.

Maki’s confidence made her puff out her chest a little.

“ _I’m the Queen._ ” Maki reminded them, “What I say goes, and I say Aunt Mira gave that to me three years ago.”

Right as Maki snatched the will out of Moana’s hands Prince Kahurangi and Commodore Koraku descended the ladder. Kahu looked a little confused.

“Your Majesty, did you need a translation?” he asked,

Maki straightened up, put on what Moana and Tai could only describe as an “unfathomable game-face” and said;

“Yes. This is an old document that Mira gave me when I was little. She says my Grandmother wrote it, but it’s in Levakian, so we don’t know what it says. I’d like you to read and translate for me.”

Kahu took Taka’s will, and with Maki, Moana, Tai, Anahera, and his father all watching, he began to read aloud…

The **_End of the Cycle_** was very patient. It could wait forever. In fact, it had already done so a little over a hundred times before, and it already knew it would have to wait forever just once more after this. Then it would finally rest.

Mira was overwhelmed. After everything that had happened over the past couple of days, her mind seemed to be working much more slowly than usual. She tried to consider all of the implications, the possible repercussions, and any feasible alternatives. She just couldn’t. Mira was far too tired and too exhausted to think straight, especially when confronted with an offer that seemed too good to refuse.

_**IT IS NOT YET YOUR TIME.** _

_**BUT IT COULD BE.** _

Power, knowledge, and wealth beyond measure were again being offered.

If only she brought forth the end.

Unable to think critically, Mira began rationalizing to herself, trying to justify the choice she was about to make. _What is the end I’m supposed to “bring forth?” How bad could it be?_ She thought to herself.

_"Bring forth the end?” That’s so vague… it could be anything. The end of what? The mission? The war? My life? The whole world? The end of WHAT!?_

**_ IT WILL BE THE END. _ **

_It can’t be as bad as the alternative. This is better than letting Manaaki win, right?_

**_ THERE WILL BE A RECKONING. _ **

_I’m tough, I’m strong. I can definitely handle whatever payment this thing asks for._

**_ BRING FORTH THE END. _ **

_Oh,_ _it’s still better than letting Maki face Manaaki. I’d rather do this than watch everyone I care about die… right?_

**_ IT IS NOT YET YOUR TIME. _ **

Mira was having trouble keeping her eyes open. The nightmarish monster remained in place every time she blinked. The terrifying blood-red eyes stared intensely into Mira’s friendly bright purple ones, and she held the gaze, trying hard not to blink.

**_ BUT IT COULD BE. _ **

Slowly, Mira raised and offered her right hand.

The End of the Cycle extended one gnarled, ghoulish appendage. As it reached out to Mira, the hand-like structure at the end of the appendage burst into bright blue flames. Mira and the End of the Cycle grasped one another in a gesture that just barely qualified as a “handshake” and the blue fire raced up Mira’s arm, stopping just short of her elbow. There was no pain.

Three and only three words were spoken.

**_ AFTER THE END. _ **

It took a single instant after Mira relinquished the End of the Cycle for her mind to abruptly return to its full strength. In that instant, she processed tens of thousands of thoughts and Mira suddenly understood the full magnitude of what she’d done.

Mira knew _exactly_ what she had just committed… and by the time the End of the Cycle cast her out of the Shroud and back into consciousness… she was already starting to have regrets.

\------------------

Mira sat upright in the infirmary bed so quickly that Anahera screamed out loud! Maki’s face lost all its color, and Prince Kahurangi’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly like a fish out of water. Everyone stared at Mira like they’d just been caught eavesdropping on something very private.

Well at least this time, none of Mira’s ribs were broken. Breathing deeply, Mira looked from one terrified face to the next until she spotted Moana.

“Uhg, hey, Moana. How long was I out? Where’s Anahera?”

She needn’t have asked. The expression on Tai’s face said it all. He was caught somewhere between fear and fascination. Mira was vaguely aware of what everyone was thinking, and echoes of their thoughts fluttered into an out of the forefront of Mira’s mind.

_How much did she hear? What if she already knows? What’s wrong with her eyes?!_

Moana seemed to be trembling. After being prodded in the back by Prince Kahurangi, she took a cautious step towards Mira.

“M-Mira?” she asked cautiously, “Are you okay?”

Mira moved sideways off the bed and stood up, facing her friend.

“I feel good!” she answered. “I think it worked! I was able to do what I needed to do, anyway.”

Mira really didn’t want to admit to making a pact with that... monster. It was shameful to think about. Moana didn’t seem satisfied with that answer though. As she shuffled in place nervously, Maki and Kahu Koraku stepped towards Mira. They both looked scared and another one of Maki’s thoughts crossed into Mira’s mind:

_Does she already know?_

Somehow, Mira knew they had taken her mother’s will before Kahu actually held it up to show her. She also knew what he was going to say next and headed him off,

“No,” said Mira. “I don’t know what it says.”

Kahu read Queen Kendra’s will aloud again:

“This is my will: After I am dead, I bequeath the Green Star, my throne, and my power as a final gift to my daughter. Mira shall become Queen and rule after me. It is my will.”

Silence. Mira’s brain seemed to have stalled. Then, as Tai pulled the paper out of Kahu’s hand so that he could read it, the final puzzle pieces clicked together in her mind. So _that’s_ why Maki was suddenly so scared. _That’s_ why Kahurangi was so interested in marrying into the Mihaka family. _That’s_ why Manaaki seemed to have a grudge against the Mihaka family and everyone connected to them!

Queen Kendra had tried to turn Partoga into a hereditary monarchy with Mira as the anchor-point of a Dynasty. The throne would have passed from mother to daughter. Under such a system, the only way to gain power would be to either supplant or join the ruling family, so Kahurangi had tried to elbow his way into the Mihaka family via marriage. At the same time, The Ranginui clan would have been shut out of power if Kendra (or perhaps Mira) had consolidated her own rule. The Mihaka Dynasty would have had total control, and shared power with no one. In spite of Manaaki’s interference, the dynasty had happened without Mira, the throne simply skipping a generation.

She pushed past Maki and Kahu, walked right up to Prince Kahurangi and said,

“You knew. Who else?”

“Over half of the National Assembly.” Kahurangi replied, “And most of the military leadership. The plan to empower the throne is older than you, Mihaka. Your mother, our allies. We’ve had this in the works for decades. It’s just gone wrong... went so very wrong.”

Mira turned away from Kahurangi and looked at everyone else. Moana, Anahera, Tai, and Kahu were all watching her anxiously. Mira could sense a common thought they all shared: The four of them were wondering how Mira’s treatment of her niece would be affected by this development. Maki herself was partially hidden behind Moana, gazing out at her aunt with trembling eyes.

Kendra had tried to pass the throne on to her daughter.

_Mira should have been Queen from the start._

She took a few steps towards Maki. At once, Moana, Tai, and Anahera all grouped together, shielding the teenaged ruler from Mira’s view. Mira paused and raised both hands above her heart,

“I know what you’re thinking... I’m not gonna do that.”

A pair of little hands pushed Anahera and Moana apart. Maki stepped in front of her aunt, and they locked eyes.

“Well...” Said Maki, her voice trembling. “Let’s get this over with.”

Mira bent down towards Maki, prompting loud gasps from the Kahurangi and Anahera, who were both expecting an act of regicidal violence. Maki crossed her arms across her chest defensively, lowered her head, and closed her eyes....

And opened them again when she realized Mira was hugging her. Aunt and niece embraced tightly.

“I said you’d _always_ be my Queen, Max.” Mira choked through tears, “I’ll never take that back. I’ll support you right up to the end.”

Maki and Mira pulled apart. The atmosphere in the infirmary had changed significantly. Things were a little more relaxed. The two looked around the room at their comrades.

“There’s only one thing left to do... isn’t there?” said Mira.

Moana nodded. Then she pointed to the ladder which led up to Deck One.

“It’s right below us, Mira, if you wanna see it.”

One by one, everyone began to climb the ladder. Mira was the second-to-last person to climb, and for a few moments, she was alone in the infirmary with Tai. He grasped her hand and pull her back to him.

“I just wanted to say...” he said slowly, “I really appreciate you for standing by your family after everything that’s happened, even after...”

He slipped Queen Kendra’s will back into Mira’s palm.

“I guess I’m trying to say; you’ve got my respect, and my support. No matter what happens. Okay?”

While Tai ascended the ladder, Mira folded up the paper and stuffed it back into her pocket. She was just about to climb the ladder when a quick flash of red caught her eye. Mira looked up to see what it was.

A short distance away from the ladder, a mirror was mounted to the wall and reflected the infirmary. Mira spotted someone in the reflection she didn’t recognize, and took step after step towards the mirror until she was right in front of it.

A complete stranger looked out of the mirror at Mira. This person had many physical features similar to Mira. They too were shorter and skinnier than the average 38-year-old Partogan. Like Mira, the stranger had high cheekbones, a small bust, and waist-length hair.

Mira reached up and ran a hand though her shiny silver locks. Simultaneously, the stranger did the same with their monochromatic snow-white hair. Mira blinked her friendly purple eyes. The stranger blinked their empty red eyes. Mira reached a hand up to feel the smooth skin on her face. In the mirror, the stranger inspected the wrinkles on her own face before running a finger along a scar that ran from the top of her forehead to the middle of her left cheek.

Mira was interrupted by a yell from above,

“Mira! We’re crossing the terminator! Come see!”

She pulled away from the mirror, hopefully leaving the apparition behind. Mira climbed up to the Sensor Suit and then crossed over to the Midak’s bridge.

Captain Rangi, Captain Aranui, Maki, Moana, Tai, Anahera, Kahu, and Kahurangi were all there alongside nearly half of the Midak’s crew. The viewscreen was already pulled down, and the image it displayed enraptured Mira just as it had done everyone else:

Just two hundred Kios below the Midak was Partoga. The Homeworld.

As it rose over the horizon, the orange light of Trecta sparkled across the Silver Sea and stained the clouds a deep red. Maki held her aunt’s arm with both hands as the massive Levakian continent slowly receded from view. It filled most of the viewscreen as the landmass stretched north, south, and west. It covered one whole (unseen from this angle) hemisphere in rolling hills, gentle-sloped mountains, wide lakebeds, and deep gorges, which marked the spot where great rivers had flowed some six hundred years ago. The Tren Krom peninsula jutted out and away from the continent, growing narrower and loosing elevation as it went until it simply merged with the Silver Sea.

Next, the broken islands of E-Ena came into view. Long and thin like snakes, they weaved their way across the ocean like pieces of straw caught in a stream.

“Here it comes!” breathed Kahurangi.

Dawn was beginning to break over the Partogan continent. First came the Boron Desert and the sparkling city of Candon along the coastline. Then the hills began to grow bigger and bigger, while to the north, the desert gave way to swampy marshland. In turn, the marshes in the north yielded to great squares of cultivated farmland. The Visonian terrace farms gave the northern part of Partoga a welcome splash of color.

Anika was the first to spot it.

“There it is!”

The Unnamed Mountain was so wide and tall that its early-morning shadow stretched hundreds of Kios to the west; all the way from Archer’s Canyon to Partoga City. The entire western half of the continent was covered in cityscape. Just as it had done for six hundred years, the Mountain’s shadow had divided the city into thirds. The northern and southern portions of the metropolis were bathed in sun and glittered like dew in the morning light. The center of the city was still shrouded in darkness and glowed with millions of artificial lights instead.

Once the whole Partogan continent had crossed into daylight Mira slowly became aware of the fact that she and everyone else on the bridge had just spent nearly an hour watching the sunrise. It was the perfect homecoming. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

That warm, comfortable feeling didn’t last. As the Midak passed over the rugged hills which made up the Visonian Highlands, a huge gouge in the landmass came into view. Archer’s Canyon was mind-numbingly deep, while being only a Kio across at its widest. It marred the face of the continent like a stab wound. Running northwest away from the Mountain, the canyon formed the northern border of Partoga city. The urban sprawl became rolling hills and farmland for only a few Kios before the battlefront could be seen.

Mira, Moana, Tai, and Anika all gasped as they saw the siegeworks around Fort Miranda. The installation itself was just barely visible from space, but the web-like network of trenches surrounding it were too easy to spot. In many places, huge squares had been dug, allowing artillery pieces and tanks to hide below ground level. Other parts of the battlefield were engulfed in smoke, suggesting that the fighting hadn’t stopped in Maki’s absence. Fort Miranda was surrounded on three sides. Archer’s Canyon lay just a short distance to the North, preventing escape in that direction.

Maki turned to face the group at large.

“Manaaki and the False Queen are both down there. Commodore. Tell Admiral Apanui that I want any crew he can spare shuttled down to my command center. Captain Aranui, we have to soften up Fort Miranda before the troops go in. The Bushranger’s going to drop any nukes it has left on the Fort as soon as we get there. Get the ship and crew ready to leave.”

While the officers split up to carry out Maki’s orders, the young Queen grabbed her aunt by the arm.

“I need to talk to you.”

Maki pulled Mira down the trapdoor and into the Radiation Shelter below.

As soon as they were alone. Maki put both hands on her hips and said,

“How long have you been a witch?”

Well, this talk was going to happen sooner or later. Mira closed her eyes and chose her answer carefully.

“About a year and a half.” She replied, “Ever since Manaaki started using his powers.”

Mira was telling a half-truth. She had never told anyone about the Shroud-Beings and it was going to stay that way. Maki gave her aunt a concerned look.

“Okay, what magic did you do with the Hyperspace Module?” she asked. “Captain Rangi had his techs go over every piece of it and they say you didn't do anything to it.”

“I didn’t change the module-” Mira started, but Maki interrupted.

“Oh, I figured that out,” Maki said, “You still did something though. I don’t know what it was and that scares me, Mira. You’re scaring me.”

Mira wanted to admit that she was scared too, but that would involve mentioning the Shroud-Beings or at the very least hinting about them. No, Maki shouldn’t have to share in Mira’s mistake. Mira decided that no one but herself would deal with the reckoning when it came.

Mira pulled her niece in close and whispered,

“I’m sorry about scaring you, Max. But I had to do that.”

Mira knelt down to Maki’s level, looked her niece in the eye, and said;

“Manaaki Ranginui is a witch, too. He’s got powers like me.”

Maki curled her hands into fists.

“I knew it!” she said, “Okay, I didn’t _exactly_ know that, but I always thought there was something wrong with him-”

Maki stopped talking and put a hand to her mouth,

“W-wait... I didn’t mean to say that.”

Mira sighed and shook her head.

“It’s okay Maki.” She said, “It’s important that you know what’s going to happen. Manaaki and I have all the same powers you learned about in Levakian History class. You know what the Levakians did to our armies during the Uprising, right?”

Maki nodded, Mira went on.

“Maki, I need you to promise me something. When we get down to the surface... to Fort Miranda... let me be the first to fight Manaaki.”

At once, Maki opened her mouth and started protesting, but Mira talked over her,

“Maki, listen. LISTEN! I think I found a way to beat Manaaki, but it means I have to do some dangerous and scary things. I swear I’m only doing this... only using my powers to help you. Please believe me, Max. This is all for you.”

Maki’s lip trembled. She was clearly thinking about defying her aunt. Finally, she said.

“You can’t go alone.”

It was Maki’s turn to talk over Mira.

“There’s too much that could go wrong!” Maki countered before Mira could start, “And we’ve both lost a lot of friends already. I don’t want to start losing my family too. So, I’ll let you take the first strike on him, but you have to go with at least a squad. Either a group of Free Army soldiers or some of your shipmates need to go with you. Take someone you can trust to give you backup, understand? No. Fighting. Alone.”

As Maki crossed her arms, Mira felt pride again for her niece. Maki clearly didn’t need anyone’s help to lay down the law. Mira smiled at Maki,

“Okay.” Mira acquiesced, “It’s a deal.”

Maki smiled mischievously,

“Who said I was offering you a deal?” She said, “You didn’t have another option. I’m the Queen, remember?”

The two hugged more tightly than ever.

“Let’s go home,” Mira muttered, “And I’ll put you on the throne myself.”

Maki and her Kuhina Nui returned to the Dervish to make preparations for planetfall. Meanwhile, because the Midak’s hull was still ruptured, Captain Rangi decided that the science ship would be left behind. Her crew would return to the surface using other means. It only took about half an hour to transfer all of the weapons and ammunition brought from Earth to the Dervish. Then once the last cache of weapons was gone, Rangi gave the order to abandon ship.

It didn’t really strike Mira that she was leaving the Midak for the final time until she pulled down her backpack’s shoulder straps and stepped out of her darkened quarters. The ship was eerily silent. The familiar hum of the engines had finally stopped for the first time in nearly three years. The dull hiss of the life support systems was gone. Many of the lights and computers were turned off. With each step Mira took towards the trapdoor leading down to the Bushranger, she felt lighter and lighter on her feet as the artificial gravity plating slowly powered down.

“ _This is the Captain. The Midak is now commencing system shutdown. If anyone is still aboard, please report to the Bushranger on Deck Four. The Midak will be uninhabitable in five minutes.”_

Rangi’s message echoed throughout the empty halls of the Midak. Mira was the only person still aboard. She’d doubled back to her quarters to grab the contents of the box her father had given her at the start of this journey. The rest of the crew was already gone. Some were aboard the Dervish, which was flying alongside the Midak now. Others had boarded the first shuttlecraft bound for the surface. Anahera had said something about being the first Midak crewmember to return to the Homeworld, and Moe Kaa had gone with her. The few who had remained were now waiting for Mira aboard the Bushranger, which was still docked to the Midak’s underside.

“ _Main Drives offline. Navigation offline. Life support offline. Hyperspace Module offline.”_

Mira walked through the disabled Hyperspace Module and brushed the inert core with her hand. She gave it a grateful little pat, then crossed the threshold into Radiation Shelter Three.

_“Laboratories offline. Artificial Gravity generator offline. Power plant offline. Auxiliary power source disabled.”_

The only light was from the trapdoor, coming from the interior of the Bushranger. The only sounds were the voices of the five Partogans who were going to fly down to the surface aboard the Bushranger.

" _The Midak is standing down...”_

Moana pulled the hatchway shut as Mira boarded the gunship. Then she threw a lever which severed the umbilical cables between the Midak and Bushranger.

“That’s everyone!” Moana called up to the cockpit. “Cut us loose!”

In the Bushranger’s cockpit, Anika cut the last connections to the Midak, and the Bushranger fell away from the science ship that had carried her halfway across the galaxy. Mira, Moana, Tai, Anika, Kahu, and Captain Rangi all looked up through the windows to take one final look at the Midak.

Before it receded completely into oblivion, the Midak was fully illuminated by the orange light of Trecta. The nose of the ship was still slightly crumpled from the time when it had flown headlong into a space mine. Four brown squares in the underside marked the spot where the science ship’s landing legs had retreated to after their departure from Earth, and Mira could see a gruesome rupture in the hull which marked the spot where the Midak’s communication’s tower had once stood.

Beside her, Captain Rangi sighed,

“She sure was a good ship.”

Anika put a hand over her heart in a kind of salute.

“Farewell, Midak. We thank you.”

Mira stuffed her backpack under one of the gunner seats, sat down, and belted herself in. The others took their places as well. Mira took one last look out the window, trying to spot the Midak, but it was gone. Now the only thing she could see was the blue and brown surface of Partoga below.

“Re-entry in two minutes!” Anika called out from the cockpit. “Everyone hold on to your lunch!”

The Bushranger pierced Partoga’s upper atmosphere. On her starboard side, the Dervish did the same. The two warships, engulfed in light and heat, screamed through the air like fireballs! Mira was pressed back into her seat as the gravity of her home planet began to have a stronger and stronger effect on her. The blackness of space faded away from the windows, replaced by the pale blue Partogan sky.

“Entering lower atmosphere!” reported Moana, “Disengaging closed-cycle engines and activating nuclear ramjet engines!”

The Bushranger shuddered violently as its nuclear power plant roared to life! Flying side by side, the Bushranger and the Dervish leveled out their altitude and turned north, powering towards Archer’s Canyon and Fort Miranda. Looking out the port-side window, Mira saw Partoga City sprawling across the landscape below the two ships. Dense columns of black smoke rose up from several parts of the city and flowed lazily out to sea. Out the starboard windows, Mira could just make out the Unnamed Mountain in the distance. The sacred Crater Lake at the summit was hidden from view by clouds.

Then the cityscape below started thinning out. Skyscrapers gave way to suburban neighborhoods, which in turn became small towns separated by just a few half-Kios of farmland. Then the farmland also stopped as the terrain became rugged and hilly. Mira knew what was coming, but was still nowhere near ready for it to appear.

No map, photograph, drawing, satellite photo, or model of any kind could do justice to Archer’s Canyon. It appeared suddenly, splitting the land apart as sharply as though the whole planet had been carved with a knife. The canyon was so narrow that it was crossed by multiple suspension bridges, yet so mind-numbingly deep that Mira didn’t see the bottom in the second or two the Bushranger was directly over it. The canyon walls simply descended further and further into shadow until there was nothing left to see.

The warships turned again and began to fly East, following Archer’s Canyon to their final destination. Slowly, the sky outside Mira’s window began to fill with smoke until there was a constant haze outside. Before Mira could get a good look outside though, Anika yelled;

“They’ve target-locked us! Hang on everyone!”

The Bushranger and the Dervish both executed evasive maneuvers. Banking hard to starboard, Mira would have fallen out of her seat if she hadn’t been buckled in. A dull thudding noise told her that anti-missile flares had just been fired away from the Bushranger. Looking to her right and out of Moana’s window, Mira got her first glimpse of Fort Miranda.

It was in very bad shape. Bomb craters overlapped one another as if trying to claim as much of the Fort for themselves as possible. Dozens of buildings had been gutted, their walls standing while the roofs had collapsed into the interior. It was impossible to tell where the roads had been, they were bombed into rubble.

Then they were over friendly lines. The Bushranger was now so close to the ground that Mira could see hundreds of Partogan soldiers waving their arms and celebrating the arrival of friendly warships. An Air Superiority Fighter pulled up alongside the Bushranger and tipped its wing to the newcomers.

While the Dervish performed a vertical landing near a large building that Mira guessed was Maki’s Command Center, the Bushranger swooped around the Monarchist base and landed on a grass runway. Her tires made a deep rumbling sound as they churned up the vegetation beneath them. Finally, after rolling through most of the unpaved runway, the Bushranger came to a full and complete stop.

They were home.

As soon as the Bushranger’s boarding ramp dropped down, everyone aboard was hit in the face with hot summer air, mixed with the smell of freshly trampled grass and a hint of gunpowder. After being cooped up aboard the Midak for so long and getting used to the foreign smells of Earth, nobody was ready for such a reintroduction to their Homeworld.

Not even waiting for the engines to finish powering down, Anika raced down the ramp, fell to her knees and pulled a handful of grass out of the ground. She smelled it as though it were the first time she had ever seen grass. Tai and Moana stared at the Unnamed Mountain as though they’d never properly seen it before while Mira simply walked in a big circle around the Bushranger, taking in the wonderful crunching sensation of Visonian Wheatgrass under her boots.

Mira was the first one to spot the convoy of vehicles coming towards the Bushranger. Armored trucks, troop carriers, and even a couple of battle tanks all drove onto the grass runway and parked in front of the Bushranger. The seven crewmates all came together to see who was about to greet them.

A Partogan soldier jumped own from a battle tank and ran forward towards Mira. She could see that his “Partogan Royal Army” patch had been covered up by another one which said “Free Partogan Army.”

“You Mihaka?” He asked, raising his voice because of how loud the Bushranger’s engines were. Mira nodded,

“Her Majesty just landed,” the soldier explained, “She wants to see you in her Command Center right now.”

Mira, Moana, Anika, Rangi, Tai, and Kahu were hastily loaded onto one of the trucks designed for troop transport while a crew of workers descended upon the Bushranger.

“Your ship will be fine,” said the soldier as he walked back to his tank. “They’re just refueling and re-arming it.”

It only took a few minutes to drive from the runway to the Command Center, but Mira loved every second of it. She sat near the back of the truck and watched the countryside race by. She could tell by the rolling hills and abundance of golden wheatgrass that she was in Visonia, the most beautiful Principality in all of the Kingdom.

The beauty was short-lived though. The convoy rounded another hillside and returned to the battlefield. Burned out hulks of tanks, bomb craters, and the occasional corpse slid in and out of view as Mira and her companions were brought closer and closer to Maki's Command Center.

The building itself looked as though it had been built in a great hurry. (It was) The outer walls and roof seemed to be repurposed pieces of shipping containers. High ranking officers hustled and bustled out of the one and only door while a radio tower above the structure was so heavily adorned with transmitters, receivers, and transceivers that it looked like it was going to fall over at any moment.

Mira and her friends were escorted to the Operations Room, the nerve center of the building. The operations room reminded Mira of the Mission Control center at Space Command’s headquarters in Candon. Rows and rows of computer workspaces faced towards a huge screen on the far side of the room. Soldiers and officers were analyzing and compiling combat data across all of these screens and updating the big digital map of Fort Miranda on the wall, giving Mira a real-time look at the fighting taking place just a few Kios away from here.

At the front of the room, Maki was already there. She had changed outfits and was now wearing a heavy-looking military combat uniform. She tore her eyes away from the big screen and ran across the room to the Bushranger crew.

“You’re here! Good!” Maki said. Then she pointed to everyone except Mira, “You five, go down that hall to the left and see Quartermaster Tamaki. He’ll get you some uniforms, armor, and weapons. Mira, come with me.”

“What’s going on?” Mira asked as Maki lead her to a door leading out of the Operations Room.

“Enemy troops saw you flying overhead,” Maki explained, “One of them came to us with a white flag as soon as my ship landed. Says ‘Queen Miranda’ wants to talk.”

“What’ll you do?” Mira said,

Maki ushered Mira into the room. Looking around, Mira saw that it was a former office that had been rapidly converted into a bedroom for Maki. The young Queen threw open the door of a large wardrobe and spoke while she searched for something inside;

“We’re going to try and negotiate. They know we’ve got the Bushranger now, and we already made it clear that their forces are outnumbered and surrounded. We’re gonna try to get the Theocrats to surrender.”

Maki pulled back from the wardrobe for a second and looked at her Aunt’s torso and waist,

“Ugh, Mira, you have a space-body.” she continued talking and searching, “Anyway, I want you to come with me to meet the False Queen. If we can just convince her that she’s living at the end of a gun-barrel, maybe...”

Maki withdrew from the wardrobe again. She was holding a female variant of the Partogan Royal Army uniform: almost entirely identical to the male version except for the chainmail undershirt, which was made from a more lightweight materiel than the male counterparts.

Mira stepped back,

“I’m not wearing that!” she protested, “Can’t you feel how heavy that thing is?!”

Maki rolled her eyes.

“Have you seen those bayonets the Green Guard use when they run out of bullets?” she asked incredulously, “This belonged to one of my bodyguards, so the anti-stab protection is reinforced. You’re wearing it, end of story.”

Mira had not seen such weapons. She had, however, found herself on the very wrong end of a pistol recently. She decided that a small amount of armor would be better than none at all. Maki passed the uniform to Mira and said she’d wait in the Operations Room. Mira quickly slipped off the backpack she’d been carrying since leaving the Midak and pulled out her Celestial Gauntlets. Then Mira pulled off her flightsuit and donned the army uniform. To complete the ensemble, she put on the Celestial Gauntlets instead of the shooting gloves which had come with the uniform.

When Mira came out five minutes later, she felt significantly heavier than normal. The chainmail undershirt hugged Mira’s body and made breathing something of a chore. Mira felt just a little better when she saw her six friends struggling under the weight of similar uniforms.

“Here’s yours.” Captain Rangi said as he passed a Gauss Rifle to Mira. “You’ll get ammunition at the front. Good luck up there.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Mira asked,

“No.” Rangi replied, “Anika and I are going to pilot the Bushranger. If you can’t get the enemy to surrender, Her Majesty has already given us the green light to nuke Fort Miranda. So get out of there quick if things go south, okay?”

Mira shuddered, then nodded. Anika and Rangi both shook her hand one last time, then left the Command Center. Kahu, Moana, and Tai all came forward. They were armed and armored.

“Her Majesty says she wants us to stay together as a squad.” Said Moana, “She insisted.”

“Where’s Maki now?” Mira asked. Tai stuck his thumb out to the door.

“Convoy.”

…

There were thirty Kios of battlefield between Maki’s Command Center and the outer walls of Fort Miranda. Since the fort’s headquarters building was another thirty Kios beyond the walls, the enemy leadership had offered to meet Maki and her entourage at a break in the wall. The convoy consisted of twelve armored trucks and two Main Battle Tanks, one at the front and one bringing up the rear. Each vehicle flew a white flag from its cabin as the group advanced through the battlespace.

Mira, Maki, Tai, Moana, and Kahu were in the centermost armored truck and only had small portholes to look out of. What little of the outside Mira could see looked awful: A small Visonian farming town had been caught in the crossfire between the Monarchist and Theocratic forces. Every building taller than two stories had been leveled; what few remained were gutted by fire and reduced to husks. Dozens of pillars of smoke rose high into the air and blocked out the sun. The ground was blackened with soot and ash. Around the town’s periphery, hundreds of corpses were scattered in the farm fields, trenches, and roads.

“This is the village of Kahutara,” Kahu explained to Mira, “Six thousand farmers and their families used to live or work here. Most of them fled to Partoga City when the fighting started.”

“I hope they come back when the war’s over.” Said Mira, “The harvest is only about five months away.”

“Have you seen the ground, Mira?” Kahu responded, “There _isn’t going to be a harvest_ this year.”

Mira’s group was silent for the rest of the journey. Maki had left her Kuhina Nui behind at the Command Center. He would run the war effort until she returned, and if Maki didn’t return... well, the war would be over, wouldn’t it?

As they convoy drew nearer and nearer to Fort Miranda, Mira began to sense Psi energy. Deep within her, the **_End of the Cycle_** stirred as it too became aware of who and what was nearby.

Then Mira lurched in her seat as the truck came to a stop. The driver banged his fist on the wall of the passenger compartment and said,

“We’re here. Troops are getting everything set up.”

Maki and Mira stepped off the back of the truck together. Their boots quickly turned grey from all of the ashes on the ground. Mira looked forward to the place where they would meet the enemy and her blood ran cold from terror.

The wall of Fort Miranda wasn’t just breached, it was annihilated. Normally, the reinforced concrete wall would have stood about nine Bios tall. Six Partogans could have stood on each other’s shoulders and still not be able to reach the top. The wall was also immensely thick at the base and narrow up top, which made climbing the smooth surface all the more difficult.

Today however, a twenty-Bio wide stretch of the wall was simply gone; reduced to little bits of shrapnel and debris scattered around the area. On the southern side of the wall, Maki’s convoy had formed a semi-circle around the breach, whilst a group of enemy vehicles (mostly trucks) had done the same on the northern side. In the center of the circle, right on the spot where the wall had once stood, someone had erected a white canopy tent. Mira saw that two members of the Green Guard and two soldiers of the Free Partogan Army were having a talk underneath the canopy. The Green Guards were much more heavily armed and armored than their adversaries. They finished their chat and returned to their sides of the divide.

The Monarchist soldiers approached Maki, saluted their Queen and said,

“The False Queen is here, your Majesty, and ready to talk to you. She asks you to bring only one other person with you and says she’ll do the same.”

Maki grabbed Mira’s hand.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

As Mira and Maki started walking to the canopy, Mira started to focus her mind and pool Psi energy. The monster dwelling inside of her made the process much easier and faster than it would have been otherwise. The Celestial Gauntlets crackled and hummed with energy.

Two people emerged from the watching crowd of Green Guard soldiers and advanced towards the meeting place. Mira recognized both of them on sight, but only she could detect the Psionic bond between them.

“Queen” Miranda the Fifth somehow looked even less healthy in person. Someone had picked out a large and baggy military uniform to conceal how skinny and emaciated she was, but her gaunt, skeletal face revealed the truth anyway. There were big bags under her purple eyes, which were so cloudy and unfocused that Mira would have wondered if Miranda had cataracts... if she hadn’t seen the Psionic shackles first.

Invisible to everyone except Mira, thin purple whips of Psi energy moved from Miranda’s hands, ankles, arms, neck, and head before enveloping and merging with the hand of the man holding them.

Manaaki Ranginui never took his eyes off of Mira as he approached the canopy. The Holy Father looked radically different from the first time Mira had seen him nearly three years ago. Already in his upper nineties, the man appeared to have aged at least twenty years. His white and green robes were stained, dirty, and seemed to hang off of his frame, which was narrow and boney. His white beard was messy and unkempt, while a bruise on his bald head suggested that even he had been unable to escape the action on the front lines.

As he drew closer, Mira could just make out the shadows of all four Shroud-Beings. The Whisperers in the Void, Instrument of Desire, and Composer of Strands all kept close to Manaaki out of fear. Not fear of the man, but of the monster that followed behind him. The Eater of Worlds stalked the ground in Manaaki’s footprints, giving off an aura of deep dissatisfaction.

All of the Shroud-Beings were invisible to the other Partogans, but on a subconscious level, some people could sense how the atmosphere had changed.

Mira, Maki, Manaaki, and the False Queen all met beneath the canopy as their soldiers and supporters looked on. Maki spoke first.

“It doesn’t matter who you think is the rightful Queen anymore.” Maki spoke just slowly enough to make her every word heard. “There’s no way you can win this fight anymore. I have the manpower, the weapons, the high ground, air superiority, and you have nowhere to run. You’re beaten, Aronui. Give up now, hand over the Whetu Kārerarera, and no one else will have to die today.”

Mira already knew that talking to Aronui was no good. She was completely under Manaaki’s control. Mira kept her eyes locked on Makaani. He was simultaneously staring Mira down, listening to Maki’s words, and preparing to make Aronui give a response. Determined to throw Manaaki off his game, Mira silently wondered if she should allow the **_End of the Cycle _** to reveal itself to him.

She didn’t have to make the choice. Right as Maki started on her final sentence, the _**End of the Cycle** _ momentarily allowed itself to be seen by Manaaki. He let out the smallest of gasps which Maki picked up on right away.

“The Holy Father understands, don’t you?” Maki asked,

Manaaki shook his head, recovering from the shock of seeing that monster.

“No,” Manaaki’s voice was much more raspy and harsh in person, “I’ve just noticed you’re holding my granddaughter hostage. Is she your bargaining chip to use on me?”

At Manaaki’s words, Moana took a step towards the canopy, raised her rifle at Manaaki’s chest and shouted,

“Don’t you _dare_ talk about me, you freak!!”

Weapons on both sides were raised, but no one fired. Both Queens had raised their hands and called for calm. Maki and Mira stared at Moana, wordlessly imploring her to calm down. After a moment, Moana lowered her rifle, stepped back, and drew her thumb across her neck, all the while staring her traitorous grandfather in the face.

Aronui addressed Maki. Her voice was just as monotonous and robotic as before...

“You misunderstand the situation.” Said the False Queen, “I am at no disadvantage. My soldiers are strong and numerous. We have the blessings of the Mountain and its Church. I am Partoga’s future. A future that will not contain you or anyone else who does not bow down and pledge their allegiance to myself and to the Church of the Mountain.”

Behind Manaaki, the Eater of Worlds crouched low to the ground and drooled. Manaaki’s attention became divided. He allocated some of his Psi energy to pacify the Eater of Worlds and simultaneously reach out to Mira. While Maki and Aronui continued to demand surrender from each other, Mira and Manaaki had their own telepathic talk:

 _Of all the people who could have given me trouble... it just had to be another Mihaka. I thought I saw the last of you when you flew off to find Sol._ Manaaki’s thoughts seeped into Mira’s mind. _What do I have to do to get rid of you?_

“ _Stop trying to hurt my family. That’s a good place to start._ ” Mira telepathically replied, “ _After that, get rid of that **thing**_ **.** ”

Mira’s eyes briefly flickered back to the Eater of Worlds. It was now fully aware of the **_End of the Cycle _** and the two monsters were staring one another down, hackles raised and teeth bared. Around Manaaki, the Whisperers in the Void seemed to be avoiding Mira’s eyes.

 _Your family has made themselves an obstacle for mine too many times._ Manaaki retorted. _After your mother impeded our holy work for the last time, it gave me great satisfaction to see her put down._

Mira was about to think “ _Don’t talk about my mother like that_ ” when Manaaki went on: _I am grateful to you. Fighting you and your niece has given me far more pleasure than your mother could have._

Uh oh. Manaaki _liked_ hurting people. How was Mira supposed to reason with him?!

Taking care to shut him out of her mind, Mira frantically wondered if this part of Manaaki’s personality was a side-effect of being bound to the Eater of Worlds. Would it stop if she separated them?

_Now what good would THAT do?_

Manaaki’s words forced their way into Mira’s mind. She shook her head hard, as if to physically throw Manaaki out. Opening her eyes again, Mira saw that Maki and Aronui were still stubbornly arguing and making no headway with each other. She also saw a translucent bubble of Psionic energy expanding out and away from Manaaki very slowly. It bulged and deflected away from Mira. She wasn’t the target after all.

Manaaki was trying to do something to Maki.

Drawing on the power of the **_End of the Cycle_** , Mira pushed back against Manaaki’s silent assault, shielding Maki’s mind against the Holy Father. Maki broke off her latest demand to look at Mira’s Celestial Gauntlets. They were fully activated, crackling and snapping as if eager to release all of their stored energy. Then Maki followed Mira’s eyes all the way to Manaaki’s face.

“What are you doing!?” Maki wasn’t looking for a response. She couldn’t see the Eater of Worlds, but Mira could sense Maki growing more and more aware of the danger by the second.

 _My pet is hungry._ Manaaki’s thoughts lazily drifted through Mira’s mind, _If it doesn’t get to have someone soon, then who knows what it might do..._

Mira redirected her powers at Maki and forced a single thought into the young Queen’s mind:

_“We’re done here.”_

Maki folded her arms and gave Aronui a frustrated look.

“I don’t get it.” Said Maki. “Do you _want_ to die or something? Are you really going to sacrifice all these people, your supporters, just like that?”

Aronui didn’t reply. She just stared at a point in space right in front of Maki, who finally gave up.

“Fine. Have it your way. The ceasefire ends in one hour.”

Aronui and Manaaki stood there beneath the canopy and watched as Maki and Mira returned to their convoy. Right as Moana turned away from the Holy Father, he called out to her.

“Granddaughter!”

Moana didn’t give him the satisfaction of turning around. She just looked over her shoulder. Manaaki had an unnatural smile on his face as he said,

“Did you see your brother, my child? He was aboard the Tantomile. Why don’t you come back to us? We are your family, your clan! Defending our Church and our honor is the best way to honor Tamati’s memory. Don’t you want him to have died for _something_ , Moana?”

Moana turned on the spot to face Manaaki.

“Tamti didn’t die to honor, or your Church.” she spat at Manaaki, “You wasted his life, spent it on a stupid vendetta against a dead woman and her children. So, I’ll do more than honor Tamati. _I’ll avenge him.”_

It took about forty-five minutes for the convoy to drive all the way back to friendly lines. This gave Mira plenty of time to think about what was about to happen. Maki had made a radio call as soon as her armored truck pulled away from the wall. The Bushranger was airborne and preparing to attack Fort Miranda with nuclear weapons. Over three-hundred thousand volunteer soldiers were getting into position to assail the stronghold and soon thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of people were going to be dead.

Thirty-one people had been killed on the Midak. Nearly fifteen-hundred had died at the Battle of Nithascal. Why were these numbers so much harder to grasp? After seeing so much violence and killing, had Mira finally gone numb to the whole thing? Or was the **_End of the Cycle _** shielding her from the mental ill-effects of warfare? Mira wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

Finally, Kahu broke the silence.

“Moana, I’m sorry about Tamati. I swear, I didn’t know that was him.”

Moana looked up from the floor.

“It’s okay. I didn’t say anything then, so I wasn’t expecting anyone to notice.”

She looked at Tai, who seemed a little confused.

“Tamati was my older brother. He was on the Tantomile last night. When General Ruru called us, that was Tamati standing next to him.”

Tai’s eyes went wide,

“Moana, I’m so, so sorry!”

Moana shook her head.

“We hadn’t spoken in years. Hell, we hated each other. He was devoted to the Church and hated the Queen. Somehow, I think we both knew it was going to end like that. My only regret is that I didn’t get to pull the trigger.”

Moana looked across the truck at Mira.

“Mira,” she said, “Let me knock off the old man, please? I gotta do this. Please.”

Mira gestured to herself,

“You want a piece of Manaaki, then get in line.”

...

The convoy came to a stop near a line of narrow trenches dug into the ground about thirty Kios away from the walls of Fort Miranda. As Mira and her companions disembarked, she saw hundreds of Monarchist soldiers cramming themselves inside these little holes in the ground while their commanding officer yelled loudly,

“When you hear the attack warning, DO NOT look up! DO NOT look at the blasts! Keep all parts of your body below ground level for TWENTY SECONDS after the explosions! Brace yourselves against the trench wall and STAY STILL!”

Mira turned to Maki,

“The nukes?! How long do we have?”

Maki pointed to the long-range radio attached to her belt.

“As long as I want,” the young Queen responded, “Your friends in the Bushranger will only fire on my command. You and your squad should get in that trench. I’m going to that bunker back there.”

Maki gestured to a rounded hilltop near the back of the front line. Then she wrapped her arms around Mira in one last hug.

“I’ll see you when this is over, right?” Maki said,

“Of course you will.” Mira reassured her,

As Maki climbed aboard the truck and her convoy returned to the rear of the lines, Mira, Moana, Tai, and Kahu each received six magazines full of ammunition for their Gauss Rifles and then slid into the battle trench. It was just barely wide enough for them to crouch down in, yet so deep they would need a ladder to climb out again. Fortunately, a wooden ladder could be found ever ten Bios or so along the trench.

While they waited for the battle to begin, Mira had one last talk with her friends.

“Look, everyone. I need to talk about Manaaki for a minute.” Mira started,

“What’s left to talk about?” Moana asked, “We find him, and if he survived the bombardment, I’ll put a bullet in his skull.”

Mira shook her head,

“It’s not going to be that easy.” She said. Her three companions drew closer, to hear every word.

“Manaaki has the same Gift I do,” Mira explained, “Psionics, telekinesis, telepathy. He can listen to your thoughts and wield nightmares like a sword. He can get inside your mind and break it like a piece of straw. You guys understand what I’m saying? He could kill you from ten Bios away without raising a finger.”

Tai pushed the barrel of his rifle into the dirt, leaned forward on it and asked,

“But don’t you have the same powers as him? Could you just overwhelm him, or something?”

Mira shook her head.

“I think we’re equally powerful at this point.” Mira said, “But he’s had more practice, actual training, and a lifetime of experience to work from. There’s no way I could take him in a fair fight.”

“Okay,” Moana said, “Don’t fight fair then. The Green Guard sure doesn’t. And Her Majesty the Queen isn’t planning to either.”

Kahu frowned,

“How exactly do you ‘fight unfairly’ against a Gifted person, anyway?” he wondered aloud.

Mira leaned back against the trench wall.

“Actually, I might have a plan.”

The fact was that Mira had come up with this plan all the way back on Earth. It was such an insane, farfetched and ridiculous plan that she had frequently discounted it and deliberately tried to forget about it. But here in this trench, with no other options available, Mira had no choice but to fall back on this idea.

Moana, Tai, and Kahu were all waiting for Mira’s plan with baited breath...

“We have to exhaust his powers.” Mira said.

All three of them reacted with varying levels of incomprehension.

“What? You mean tire him out?” Moana asked,

“I don’t follow.” Admitted Kahu,

“Try again?” Requested Tai.

Mira sighed,

“Look,” she said, “Moana, you helped me get all of that Psionic research from XCOM Headquarters. Did you read the sections on exhaustion?”

Moana shook her head,

“I just got those books for you, Mira. I’m in the dark like these two.”

Mira didn’t have time to talk about Jericho, the Gifted Human she had met in the Shroud so long ago, or how Jericho’s death had been directly related to the exhaustion of her powers. Instead, Mira decided to invoke XCOM’s knowledge about the subject instead. It would be easier for her friends to relate, anyway.

Mira explained at length how Psionic powers were finite and permanently lost once used up. Since she didn’t want to reveal the existence of the **_End of the Cycle_** or its brethren, Mira instead chose to imply that Manaaki would simply become a normal powerless Partogan once his supply of Psi energy was used up.

“Okay,” said Moana after Mira finished explaining, “So _then_ I can shoot him, right?”

“It’s going to take all of us,” Mira replied, “and every soldier and every gun we can get to follow us. Manaaki’s an old man, which means he might have used up most of his powers already, but we can’t run any risks. He needs to be _completely_ exhausted.”

Flipping her rifle’s “Safe/Fire” switch absentmindedly, Moana said,

“Don’t worry, Mira. We’ve got your back.”

For a few minutes, the foursome simply waited in that dark, hot trench. Right when Mira was starting to wonder how much longer they would have to wait for the battle to start, a loudspeaker, somewhere behind the line of trenches began to blare a message. A message that was repeated by other loudspeakers all along the line:

“ATTACK IN PROGESS! SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY! ATTACK IN PROGRESS! SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!”

Tai craned his neck up to try and see the Bushranger as it commenced the attack run against Fort Miranda. Mira grabbed him by the back of his jacket and forced him down into a crouching position at the bottom of the trench. Meanwhile, all up and down the line, army officers and sergeants were calling out to their troops:

“Brace! Brace! Heads down! Eyes closed! HEADS DOWN! EYES CLOSED!”

Mira, Tai, Moana, and Kahu all braced their hands against the wall, tucked their heads low, pressing chins to chests, and shut their eyes as tightly as possible. Somewhere down the trench to their right, an army radio operator counted down,

“First missile away! Detonation minus five.... four.... three.... two.... one.... MARK!”

The brilliant white light of a thermonuclear explosion danced into the trench, bounced off the walls and shone directly into Mira’s face. Even though she had her eyes shut, Mira still felt like she was looking at the sun.

“Second missile incoming! Shockwave in three, two-“

CRACK!

A dense wall of air and sound raced over the trenches while the ground trembled under a second explosion. The entire trench seemed to lurch violently as the second shockwave and third blast rocked the ground.

The nuclear bombardment felt like an unending earthquake as missile after missile drilled into Fort Miranda. The light of each successive blast was overpowering. The top of the trench crumbled, sending dirt and stone cascading down onto the heads of everyone hiding below. A fourth, fifth, and sixth explosion shook the world like a toy in the hands of a child! Then the shockwaves from the first three blasts came back! They had bounced off the northern slopes of the Unnamed Mountain and returned to the battlefield from whence they came!

Mira felt like she was caught in a sandstorm. Hot winds blew all along the trenches, choking the air with soot, ash, and dust. All the while, nuclear destruction continued to rain down on Fort Miranda.

Seven! Eight! Nine!

TEN.

          

That final blast rent the air as though a lightning bolt had landed near Mira. But there was no time to recover. Before the echoing of the explosions had even died down, an army officer to the left of Mira’s group began counting out loud.

“Thirty! Twenty-nine! Twenty-eight!”

Up and down the line, leaders of soldiers gave the command:

“Lock and load!”

Mira stood upright in the trench and opened her eyes. She pulled up her friends one by one and said,

“This is it! We’re going in!”

Moana, Tai, and Kahu all loaded their rifles. Moana attached a sharp-looking bayonet to the end of her rifle.

“Twenty-seven! Twenty-six! Twenty-five!”

All along the trenches, soldiers yelled encouraging words to each other until the cacophony coalesced into a general war cry. Thousands of soldiers along the line began chanting the words to a six-hundred year old Partogan war song: Te Oati a te Toa.

The Warrior’s Oath.

“Ko matou to mate!” Yelled the officers. _We are your death._

 **“KO MATOU TO MATE**! **”** roared the entire line. The soldiers hollered as loudly as they could, determined to make sure the enemy could hear every word! Mira joined in as a leader and called, while Kahu, Tai, and Moana became followers and joined the response:

“Ka whawhai tatou mo ia!” _She is our life_

 **“KA WHAWHAI TATOU MO IA!”** The sound of tens of thousands of voices echoed off the flank of the Unnamed Mountain, making the attacking force seem larger than it actually was. (And it was already huge)

“Twenty-four. Twenty-three. Twenty-two. Twenty-one.”

“Ka ora tatou!” Mira screamed aloud! _We will live._

“ **KA MATE TATOU”** Responded Tai, Moana, and Kahu. _We will die._

“Twenty. Nineteen. Eighteen. Seventeen.”

“ **”KEI REIRA TONU TE WHETU KĀRERARERA!!”** Chanted the entire Free Partogan Army. _The Green Star still rises._

“Sixteen. Fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve.”

The final rousing chorus started as a wave, coming from somewhere to the East and crashing over the line like another shockwave. As it drew closer, the voices got louder and louder! It was now impossible for the enemy to ignore the yelling coming from the Monarchist lines.

“Kia roa te Kuini!” The soldiers on the right flank yelled. _Long live the Queen._

“Eleven. Ten. Nine.”

“Kia roa te Kuini!” Mira bellowed,

“Eight. Seven. Six. Five.”

 **“KIA ROA TE KUINI!!”** The whole army roared like a rocket engine. The sound was overpowering, deafening!

“Four! Three!! TWO!! **ONE!!”**

 From both the right and the left came the shrill blasting of whistles and yells of:

“Over the top! Go go go!”

All along the line, soldiers began to climb ladders and emerged from the trenches. Battle Tanks lurched forward and swiveled their turrets to face Fort Miranda. Officers pointed towards the enemy positions and ordered their men forward. Mira hung her rifle by its strap from her shoulder and scrambled up the ladder. As soon as she reached the top, Mira turned around and called to her friends,

“Time to go! Get up here!”

Moana, Tai, and Kahu scrambled to the top of the trench to join Mira. They turned and stared open-mouthed at the sight before them.

Fort Miranda was gone. In its place and growing larger with every second was a dense black cloud shaped like a mushroom. Its “cap” rose to the top of the atmosphere and began spreading out in all directions, blocking out the sun and cloaking the Unnamed Mountain in shadow. The sun struggled to send light to the battleground, but there was a second source of illumination: the fire. A gargantuan inferno raged at the bottom of the mushroom cloud’s stalk. Stretching for dozens of Kios in each direction, the flames towered hundreds of Bios into the darkening sky and danced above the wreckage of the fortress.

Then the noise slowly came back. The yelling of soldiers, the rumbling of tanks, the thunder of artillery. Mira saw a line of battle tanks advancing towards the remains of Fort Miranda. Each one was escorted by a large group of Monarchist soldiers.

The final assault had begun.

Mira pulled her eyes away from Fort Miranda.

“Let’s go!” she yelled, “Follow the tanks!”

Just like all of the other soldiers, Mira’s little squad ran up to a Main Battle Tank and followed it closely as it rumbled across the battlescape towards what was left of Fort Miranda. As the line of tanks advanced, the command to open fire was given. Each tank cannon sounded like another lightning strike and shook the ground with incredible strength. Far away, Monarchist artillery thundered continuously, pummeling whatever remained of the enemy positions.

And yet there was no response from the Theocrats. No gunfire, no anti-tank shells, no artillery. There wasn’t even any yelling.

The Monarchist army wasn’t challenged as they passed over a long white stain in the ground, marking the spot where the massive concrete wall had once stood. The attacking force penetrated deep into the fortress. The farther in they went, the closer to the center of the mushroom cloud the soldiers drew. Mira blinked as the world around her changed to a dull orange color. Here, directly underneath the mushroom cloud the sun was completely blocked out, and the only source of light was from the countless fires burning near and far.

Since the enemy wasn’t showing themselves, the only thing Mira could watch was the rapidly growing firestorm to the north. Flames taller than skyscrapers danced great circles around each other and burned so brightly that no one really noticed that the sun was now completely blocked out by clouds, and that the surrounding area was now darker than night, even though it was the middle of the day.

Finally, after following the tanks for what felt like at least an eternity, the attacking forces began to spot each other. Using a pair of binoculars she borrowed from a sergeant, Mira saw tanks and soldiers belonging to other parts of the Monarchist cause advancing from the East and West. Directly to her north, in between all three parts of the pincer movement at the bottom of a hill was the cantonment area of Fort Miranda.

This large urban area once held thousands of buildings, ranging from military structures like barracks, armories, arsenals, training centers, communications buildings, and the Command Center to a suburban neighborhood consisting of thousands of simple little homes where the families of soldiers could live.

Of course, all of this no longer applies.

The entire cantonment area was leveled to the ground, having been at the center of at least six out of ten nuclear blasts. What little military infrastructure still stood was on fire. Occasionally, here and there, a reinforced building still stood, but even those appeared to be severely damaged. Meanwhile, a second firestorm was engulfing the residential neighborhood, roaring like a freight train. The fire was so intense that a tornado made entirely out of smoke and flame tossed nearby objects into the air, where they would simply explode into flame, kicking burning debris into the sky. The intense heat was making Mira’s chainmail undershirt extremely uncomfortable.

Kahu turned to Mira.

“Looks like we got’em.”

_CRACK!_

Just half a Kio away from Mira and her friends, a tank exploded! Its turret flew high into the air and fell back down the ground with a sickening _THUD._

Gunfire erupted! Gauss rounds, railgun slugs, and plasma bolts departed the cantonment area and met the Monarchists head on. Dozens of soldiers were cut down by the initial volley before everyone else finally ran for cover.

“Press the attack!” a Monarchist officer yelled, “Don’t let them regroup!”

 Mira, Tai, Kahu, and Moana all ran to keep up with their tank before grabbing hold of the railing and climbing on top of the vehicle. They weren’t the only ones to get that idea. Some twenty tanks, each carrying at least a squad of soldiers, had peeled away from the main group and were now racing downhill into the cantonment area at full speed. Two other groups of tanks from the other halves of the pincer movement were doing the same thing.

Tank cannons and automatic weapons unloaded on the urban blocks. Through the smoke and haze, Mira could just see the roof of a reinforced bunker. Before today, it had rested beneath the surface. Multiple blasts had blown away the dirt and “unburied” it. Now, Green Guards were pouring out of its entrance and taking up fighting positions behind any bit of debris big enough to pass as cover. The **_End of the Cycle _** enhanced Mira’s vision, allowing her to see what her allies couldn’t.

Manaaki Ranginui emerged from the formerly underground bunker, pulling “Queen” Aronui by the hand. He ordered one of his soldiers to take Aronui to another bunker, then Manaaki started walking towards the battle line. He stood between two machine gunners and stared directly at Mira.

“THERE HE IS!” Mira screamed, pointing at Manaaki.

Kahu, Moana, and Tai all raised their weapons and fired Gauss rounds in the direction Mira was pointing. Multiple tank commanders saw this and also opened fire on Manaaki. The Holy Father lazily waved his hand and deflected all of the incoming rounds with ease.

Mira jumped down from her tank.

“Just keep attacking him!” she yelled, “Force Ranginui to use his powers!”

Mira threw her rifle to the ground. She didn’t need it anymore. Opening her mind, body, and soul the ** _End of the Cycle_** , Mira’s entire being was flooded with Psionic energy. The Celestial Gauntlets activated, and two Shard Blades extended out and away from Mira’s wrists. Manaaki saw both the **_End of the Cycle _** and Mira. Without even giving it a second thought...

He commanded the Eater of Worlds to attack.

The monster, unleashed at last, poured itself into the Theocrats defending Manaaki. Suddenly, their accuracy became demonically sharp. Monarchist soldiers who were riding the advancing tanks were picked off, their bodies tumbling as they hit the ground. Mira clenched her fists and started to run downhill towards Manaaki. Her every step enhanced by both Psionic power and the **_End of the Cycle_** , she overtook the tanks and was leading the charge.

Mira was the first to overrun a Theocrat position, the tanks and their passengers followed suit a moment later. Two Guards fired their Gauss Rifles at Mira. With one hand, she swept the slugs aside and with the other, Mira lifted both of them off the ground telekinetically and kept them suspended in midair where they struggled, shouting for help in vain until a group of Monarchist soldiers gunned them down.

Vastly outnumbered, the Theocrats stood their ground, possessed with the hunger and bloodlust of the Eater of Worlds. Both sides were locked in close quarters combat, moving from one wrecked building to another. Battle-crazed Theocrats were flushed out of their strongholds by tank cannons only to rally and force the Monarchists out of another structure nearby, brutally butchering anyone they found inside.

But the lopsided battle was very slowly starting to turn. For every one Green Guard who fell, they took almost a hundred amateur soldiers from the Monarchist cause with them. The Theocrats couldn’t replace their losses, though. Manaaki and his allies were simply trying to hold out until the seemingly endless pool of Monarchist reinforcements was drained. And Mira knew it. At every opportunity, she tried to look around and spot Manaaki in the rapidly shrinking combat zone, but he seemed to be deliberately avoiding her.

Meanwhile, the **_End of the Cycle _** had gone off to hunt the Eater of Worlds. Without the metaphorical eyes in the back of her head, Mira had almost no warning when she kicked down the door of the commissary and found a Green Guard waiting to ambush her.

Except this wasn’t an ordinary soldier. He appeared to be _beyond_ peak physical condition: his muscles were perfectly developed, his eyes and ears working at maximum capacity, and his reaction times were tuned to the microsecond.

Mira had no time to prepare! The Composer of Strands punched her in the chest, sending her flying backwards through the air and she crashed into the burned-out hulk of another building. Mira got back to her feet just in time to see the enemy coming again. Mira slashed her Shard Blades through the air and scored a hit, cutting deep into the Composer’s side! Blood spilled onto the ground, but the Composer of Strands swung its rifle like a club, striking Mira across the shoulder and sending her to the ground again. Scrambling to get away, Mira heard the yelling before she actually saw Moana arriving on the scene.

“GET AWAY FROM MY FRIEND!!” Moana screamed,

Tai, Kahu, and Moana were all upon the Composer of Strands in an instant. Not knowing the true nature of what they were dealing with, Tai and Kahu fired their rifles repeatedly, pumping nearly one hundred Gauss rounds into the Composer of Strands. When they ran out of ammo, Moana charged forward (not once thinking about why the enemy was still standing) and drove her bayonet into his chest. The Composer of Strands put both hands on Moana and tried to fight back, so she pulled her bayonet out of his torso and started stabbing over and over again. Unconcerned with these superficial injuries, the Composer of Strands made a fist and moved to strike Moana!

“No!”

Mira reached out and enveloped Moana in Psionic energy, then connected the “circuit” with herself. The Psionic Inversion happened in an instant! To anyone watching, it looked as though Moana and Mira had been simultaneously struck by lightning! But before the smoke had even cleared, both fighters took advantage of the sudden change: Mira had traded places with Moana! The Composer of Strands brought its fist down and slugged Mira with full force! As she fell down, Moana advanced and buried the blade of her bayonet into the back of her enemy’s spine!

The Composer of Strands collapsed to the ground, its host body crippled. While Tai and Kahu took point, looking for more hostiles, Mira got up and grabbed the Composer of Strands by the hair, pulling its head up to face her.

“Manaaki?” Mira’s voice was full of violence.

“Forced us...” Gasped the Composer of Strands, “Enslaved us...”

“Where. Is. He?” Mira wasn’t sure if that was her voice or that of the **_End of the Cycle_**.

“Doesn’t understand us...” the Composer of Strands went on, “Thinks himself our master. His side of the bargain comes due... and...”

 _ **“There will be a reckoning.”** _ The **_End of the Cycle_** spoke with Mira’s voice.

Moana, Tai, and Kahu all turned to face Mira. As they did so, the Composer of Strands abandoned its host body, leaving the Green Guard to die. The Shroud-Being itself was nowhere to be found. Knowing that finding Manaaki was still the highest priority, Mira extended a Psionic shield to her friends, and the four comrades prepared to dive into the fray again.

The Theocrats were losing ground. High above, the Bushranger swooped across the battlefield, strafing the enemy with her Mass Driver cannons before ascending out of weapons range again. On the ground, Monarchist tanks pulverized any building enemy soldiers tried to hide in. Further to the north, the ferocious impacts of tank and artillery shells caused the ground to collapse. Several buildings along the southern edge of Fort Miranda slid and fell into Archer’s Canyon as the earth succumbed to the immense punishment of both nuclear and conventional warfare. When a warehouse full of arms and ammunition fell into the canyon, nearly two hundred Theocrats went with it.

The scales were tipped even further in favor of the Monarchist side, but one more shoe needed to fall: The nuclear mushroom cloud had finally reached the apex of its existence. The cool temperatures of Partoga’s upper atmosphere had done their work, and now millions of cubic Bios of radioactive dust were collected inside of rapidly condensing water vapor.

Too heavy to stay airborne, untold tons of nuclear fallout fell to the ground as black rain.

Mira sensed the radioactive downpour coming. After all, nothing could take her ally, the End of the Cycle, by surprise. She raised her right arm to the heavens and produced a powerful telekinetic shield. Acidic black rainwater ran down the sides of an invisible dome, stretched out for nearly ten Bios in all directions around Mira. Kahu, Moana, and Tai all stayed as close as possible to Mira, and the foursome waited out the storm.

Monarchist and Theocrat alike sought any kind of overhead shelter they could, bringing the battle to a momentary pause while everyone tried to escape the black rain. While the infantry of both sides hid from the thundering storm of fallout, Monarchist tank crews began to exploit the situation. Protected by their thick armor plating, the armored war machines began to rampage across the battleground.

Monarchist tanks crushed buildings and drove their Theocratic occupants out into the black rain, where they met a terrible fate not dissimilar from Maia Maaka’s death aboard the Midak. Theocrats who refused to go out into the deadly downpour were finished off by machine guns or tank cannons. Any Theocrat who’s hiding spot was impervious to tank assault was located and strafed by the Bushranger.

By the time the downpour cleared and the sun finally reappeared in the sky, the battle had changed so radically... that it was over.

Only some fifteen Green Guards were still alive. They had barricaded themselves inside of a reinforced concrete building that had once been Fort Miranda’s Command Center. As Mira and her friends advanced on the place, she could sense Manaaki and Aronui hiding somewhere inside the ruined structure. Well, not hiding... waiting was a better word.

Surrounded on all sides, the building looked completely impotent against the dozens of tank cannons now arrayed against it. From her vantage point in the ruins of a chapel, Mira could see the nervous face of a Green Guard briefly appear in a window before retreating again.

“Maybe they’ll give up?” Kahu wondered hopefully.

About half a minute after he spoke, the window opened again and a Green Guard jumped out of the building. He threw his weapon to the ground and ran away, screaming hysterically. Monarchist soldiers, staring with confused looks, stood aside and allowed the former enemy to abandon the battle.

“It looks like they are!” Moana gasped.

Two tanks and a platoon of Monarchist soldiers were slowly and cautiously advancing up the road towards the Command Center. They had taken the sudden act of desertion to be a sign of the enemy’s total collapse.

Both Mira and the **_End of the Cycle _** held back. Something didn’t seem right. When Moana stood up from her cover and tried to join the advancing soldiers, Mira grabbed her arm.

“Don’t.”

“What?” Hissed Moana, “Why not? It’s over, we’ve won! Grandpa wouldn’t dare keep fighting us now.”

Mira shook her head.

“That soldier was escaping from Manaaki.” She whispered, “Not from the fight.”

Mira could sense it. There was immense Psionic power building up inside the building. Manaaki was steeling himself for a final stand by drawing power directly from the Instrument of Desire, the Whisperers in the Void, the Composer of Strands, and the Eater of Worlds.

Mentally, Mira asked the **_End of the Cycle _** a question:

_What happens if someone doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain with you or your brethren?_

**_ THERE WILL BE A RECKONING. _ **

Oh, yes. That was definitely about to happen. Mira could feel a growing aura of rage and fury coming from inside the Command Center. It was now or never. She touched the shoulders of her friends one by one and said,

“Remember my plan. Concentrate on Manaaki. Don’t give him any room to catch his breath. Exhaust him.”

They all nodded. Mira finished by saying;

“Find more soldiers. Tell them all to concentrate on Manaaki. Get as many people gunning for him as you can. I’ll keep him busy.”

The group of Monarchist soldiers had reached the Command Center’s front door. One man shouldered his rifle and (pistol drawn) cautiously pushed the heavy metal door open.

Something that looked like a bolt of lightning erupted out of the Command Center, striking the poor man in the chest and sending him straight to the ground! The Psionic Volt jumped from one victim to the next, wiping out the entire squad in less than a second before it connected with the armor of the two battle tanks! Pink mist escaped from the barrels and viewports of both vehicles, the only evidence of the gruesome slaughter of their crews.

Five people exited the Command Center. Manaaki Ranginui, his white and green robes now messy and blackened, was escorted by four Green Guards. Just like Mira had seen earlier, each soldier’s body had been forcibly taken over and possessed by one of the Shroud-Beings.

The Eater of Worlds held an unreasonably large combat knife in each hand and wore a crazed expression on its face. The Instrument of Desire was the least suited for combat, and its host body reflected this: Short and scrawny. The Composer of Strands had tried to copy the ultra-muscular body it had used earlier, but the new host body was female, and was just a little smaller than the first one. Also unsuited for battle, the Whisperers in the Void had opted for a small body that traded raw power for a certain degree of agility. The Whisperers, Instrument, and Composer all had looks on their stolen faces that clearly displayed their unwillingness to be party to what was about to happen.

From somewhere inside her, Mira felt the **_End of the Cycle_** tremble with rage.

“MIRA MIHAKA!!” Manaaki yelled, his voice amplified by the Composer of Strands, “SHOW YOURSELF!! COME TO ME SO THAT WE MAY END THIS CONFLICT!!”

Manaaki’s voice echoed across the battlefield, bouncing off the walls of Archer’s Canyon nearby and causing the Unnamed Mountain to tremble far away. Mira stood upright and walked out into the open. For a brief moment, she felt Tai’s hand on her shoulder and heard his voice whisper,

“Good luck.”

 

 

Manaaki and Mira never took their eyes off each other as she advanced on him. Slowly, Mira crossed the shattered remains of the street and found herself less than two Bios from the Holy Father. Her mind was clear and full of focus. Manaaki’s “allies” made threatening motions towards Mira. Only the Whisperers in the Void refrained; it gave Mira an apologetic look instead.

Out of the corner of her mind’s eye, Mira sensed her friends running around and communicating her plan to as many Monarchist soldiers as they could find. Determined to stall for as long as she could, Mira drew herself up to full height and spoke.

“You’re finished. You’ve got nothing left, Ranginui. No soldiers. No weapons. No place to hide. Surrender. You know what’s going to happen if you don’t.”

Manaaki seemed to absorb her words slowly. Behind him, the Eater of Worlds looked at Mira and licked its chops hungrily. Finally, Manaaki replied:

“Spare me the speech. We both know it’s meaningless.”

Manaaki raised his arm and swung it downwards. With a loud popping and snapping noise, a semi-corporeal whip made from Psionic energy smacked the ground menacingly. Mira’s Celestial Gauntlets extended their Shard Blades and she raised her arms to a fighting stance, blades aimed directly at Manaaki.

All four Shroud-Beings raised their fists and weapons. The Eater of Worlds bared its teeth and gave a low growl.

“My pet is very hungry, and your niece’s army didn’t satisfy it.” Said Manaaki coldly, “It hasn’t had a full belly since that very first meal. It deeply enjoys royal blood, you see; and nothing has been able to satisfy it quite like Phoebe did. Since it must wait a little longer to have Maki… I promised it that you will taste just as good as Queen Phoebe did, after all, she stole the throne from _you_ , didn’t she? Now be a good girl _and die like she did._ ”

All pretense was gone. The faintest hope of a peaceful conclusion extinguished. There was only fury now. It burned brighter than the sun and became the Psionic power coursing through the Celestial Gauntlets.

Mira and the End of the Cycle launched themselves at Manaaki and his allies, charging headlong into a Psionic Storm! Manaaki raised one hand and hurled a Psi Lance like a javelin at Mira! She parried the blow before being knocked aside by the Composer of Strands as they scrambled to attack the End of the Cycle. Physical attacks were far beneath the End of the Cycle, however. Lazily, it annihilated the Composer’s host body before turning its attention to the Eater of Worlds.

Mira dodged another swing from Manaaki’s spectral whip and went on the attack! She didn’t have any time to think, so Mira committed to a reflexive strategy. When Manaaki tried to hit Mira with a Psi Volt she performed another Inversion, this time trading places with the Whisperers in the Void. She rematerialized behind Manaaki and slashed wildly at his back with both of her Shard Blades, making two deep cuts across his left shoulder.

Manaaki roared and turned on Mira. Another Psi Volt caught Mira in the chest, the pain of it causing her to see stars. Mira didn’t recover quickly enough this time. Manaaki grabbed her by the left arm, wrenching Mira off her feet with an inescapable amount of strength. Mira reignited her Gauntlets and extended the Shard Blades, determined to impale Manaaki on one of them while he held her so close. The Holy Father evaded both blades, took Mira’s left arm in both of his hands…

And _broke the bone_ as quickly and easily as though it were a twig.

The pain was worse than anything Mira had ever experienced before. The scream of agony died in her throat and every beat of Mira’s heart sent fresh pain to her mangled extremity. She fell to her knees and scrambled away from Manaaki, unable to see her broken arm through the tears in her eyes; but just as quickly as the pain had come, it was gone. The End of the Cycle had abolished the pain! Mira’s arm was still certainly broken and useless, but Mira’s ally would not allow the injury to impede her ability to fight.

Mira looked back just in time to see Manaaki behind her. The weapon in his hand had reshaped itself into a spectral sword, which the Holy Father was preparing to bring down on Mira’s back! She started pooling her powers for another Inversion, but it wasn’t necessary.

BAM!

A tank shell exploded less than an arm’s length away from Manaaki. He had deflected it at the last possible second before a colossal volley of gunfire erupted! Hundreds of Monarchist soldiers had descended upon the scene and opened fire the instant Mira had put a small distance between herself and her enemy. While Manaaki struggled to defend himself, the Whisperers in the Void, Composer of Strands, and the Instrument of Desire were all removed from the fight as their host bodies were abruptly killed in the onslaught. Mira scrambled on her knees and hand to get out of the line of fire and took shelter behind the husk of a destroyed tank.

Manaaki had now concentrated all of his powers into surviving the bullet storm. Both hands raised high, he conjured two overlapping telekinetic shields which sent bullets, tank shells, and even Mass Driver rounds from the Bushranger flying off in all directions. Mira watched from her safe spot as three Monarchist soldiers were cut down by their own bullets. A group of commandoes closed the distance and lobbed hand grenades at Manaaki. They exploded at his feet, but when the smoke cleared, he was unharmed and still deflecting fire.

With a mighty roar, the Bushranger did another strafing run against Manaaki, bringing three of her turrets to bear at one point. Seeing the Bushranger coming, Manaaki flicked his wrist and sent a Mass Driver round flying all the way back up to the human gunship. With unerring accuracy, the round found its mark, shredding one of the Bushranger’s nuclear ramjet engines. The ship broke off its attack run immediately and veered away, her pilot looking for a place to crash-land.

Remembering that Anika and Rangi were still on board, Mira found new strength. She pulled herself out of cover; using her one good hand, she conjured and threw her own Psi Lance at Manaaki. In the cloud of bullets, it should have gone unnoticed. But it was spotted by both the Eater of Worlds and the **_End of the Cycle_** , who acted on it together. Manaaki didn’t even need to look at the semi-corporeal projectile as it came at him. He spun on the spot, located Mira, and returned the Lance to its sender with a vengeance!

The **_End of the Cycle _** pushed Mira down to the ground, but the Eater of Worlds wouldn’t be swayed by something as petty as _cover._ Mira’s Psi Lance tore through the armor of the dead tank and emerged out the other side! Mira turned and threw herself away from the danger! She felt a massive impact and a tearing sensation! Lying on the ground, curled into a ball; Mira had to blink several times before she got her bearings again.

This time, she was distinctly aware of dull pain being suppressed by the **_End of the Cycle_**. This injury must have been much more serious if a small amount of pain was slipping through… Mira also became aware of something wet on her face. Something sticky and hot. Sitting upright amidst the storm of gunfire and explosions, Mira put her one good hand to the right side of her face and felt the blood running down her cheek, the open wound on the side of her head running between her right ear and her… and… her… ... ... and.... ....

_Mira’s right eye was gone._

For about ten seconds, Mira just sat there, shocked.

“Mira! Are you alright?”

Moana vaulted a piece of crumbled wall and took shelter with Mira. Looking Mira up and down, Moana looked horrified.

“I’m okay.” Mira started to say,

“NO THE HELL YOU’RE NOT!” Moana shouted,

And she pushed Mira down to a sitting position behind the dead tank.

“You’re done, Mira. You took your shot, now stay down and let me have my turn to fight!”

“No, Moana!” Mira gasped, “Stay-“

Too late. Moana had charged out of cover, bayonet fixed to the end of her rifle, and had charged towards her grandfather. Looking out from behind the pulverized piece of metal, Mira saw the situation had gotten incredibly bad.

By deflecting incoming fire alone, Manaaki had managed to kill or incapacitate several hundred Monarchist soldiers. The few who were still shooting were now just taking wild potshots to draw attention away from those who had been sent out to rescue the wounded. Nearly every tank had been disabled or destroyed; while the Eater of Worlds rampaged alone throughout the Monarchist lines, slaughtering soldiers by the dozen and drawing even more fire away from Manaaki.

Moana meanwhile, had crossed the distance between herself and Manaaki undetected, ducking behind cover whenever he turned her way. Mira staggered to her feet and started shuffling back into the fight. Manaaki saw her coming, then he saw Moana. For a moment, grandfather and granddaughter just stared at each other. Mira wondered if Manaaki simply didn’t believe it was possible for his own flesh and blood could take up arms against him.

Mira was right.

Taking advantage of Manaaki’s hesitation, Moana ran full-tilt at him, firing her rifle wildly! The Holy Father tried to re-orient his telekinetic shields, but it was too late! A Gauss Round tore into his abdomen and exited through the small of his back; a second later, Moana slammed into her grandfather at full force! Her bayonet pierced Manaaki’s stomach, and the two fell down into the mud.

“MOANA!!” Mira screamed!

The gunfire ceased as Mira scrambled towards the spot where Moana and Manaaki had fallen, but before she had gone more than three paces, someone yelled,

“MIHAKA!! BEHIND YOU!”

Mira whirled around to the right so that her left eye would have the best field of view possible. Covered in mud and blood, the Eater of Worlds was almost on top of Mira before she had a chance to react. Fortunately the End of the Cycle had returned to Mira’s side; it guided her actions, and the two acted in concert. Raising her unbroken right arm, Mira activated her Celestial Gauntlets and struck the Eater of Worlds with an open palm. At the moment she made contact with her enemy’s chest, Mira simultaneously fired a Psi Volt from her palm, the blast amplified a thousand-fold by the End of the Cycle. The Eater’s host body was killed outright; the Shroud-Being disappeared as soon as its host body crumpled.

Mira turned back to the spot where she’d last seen Moana and felt a rising sense of panic at the sight in front of her:

Manaaki was back on his feet! Psionic energy swirled and billowed around him and he was writhing in some kind of agony; Manaaki grabbed his head with one hand and clawed desperately at his wounds with the other. Moana was lying face-down at his feet. Her rifle lay a short distance away, but the bayonet was sticking out of her own upper back, blood running out of the wound in her shoulder.

Mira couldn’t tell if Moana was alive.

Stumbling forward and moving her good arm clumsily, Mira poured as much energy as she could into her hand and fired a massive Psi Lance at Manaaki. She missed, owing to having only one eye when she was used to having two. The column of Psionic energy continued to soar through the air away from the battlefield, crossing hundreds of Kios before finally impacting the northern flank of the Unnamed Mountain. Imparting its energy on the mountainside, a huge rockslide began to cascade down the slope.

Manaaki didn’t seem to notice Mira had just attacked him. He grabbed his head in both hands screamed,

“Why isn’t that enough for you?! She’s my granddaughter!! No! Stop!! Stop making demands! You’re supposed to obey me! I’m _your_ master!!”

In the distance, Mira could hear a loud rumbling… This was it.

**_ THE RECKONING. _ **

Stepping closer, Mira became even more acutely aware of the Eater of Worlds’ dissatisfaction. It was finally beginning to feel betrayed by Manaaki. He had failed to deliver on his promise of easy prey.

There was no way this solution would be possible without the **_End of the Cycle_**. Mira began to charge her body, gathering as much of her power as possible. The Celestial Gauntlets shimmered and hummed more and more brightly and loudly with each passing moment. Manaaki came back to his senses and saw Mira standing in front of him.

“Do you really think you can still fight me?” His voice sounded strained, on the verge of exhaustion, “With one eye blind and one arm broken?”

Mira nodded,

“That’s exactly what’s going to happen.” She said, “You aren’t going to hurt anyone else. Not my friends. Not my family. No one. Not while I’m here. So I’ll stand here and fight you _for the rest of our lives._ ”

Manaaki spat on Moana’s motionless form.

“I haven’t come this far….” He bent down and pulled the bayonet out of Moana’s back,

“I haven’t worked for so long….” He stepped over Moana and advanced towards Mira,

“To see all of my work undone….” He grabbed Mira by the hair, pulled her head up and stared right into her eyes,

“By a _ghost from the past._ ”

Manaaki pushed the bayonet into Mira’s chest with supernatural strength, defeating the anti-stab chainmail and driving the blade as far as it would go into her body. Mira’s breath caught in her throat and her heart began to flutter desperately.

“You look like her,” Manaaki said, using both physical strength and Psionic power to drive the blade into Mira, “Your mother had the same expression on her face when she died. Like she thought she’d somehow gotten the last laugh after I dismantled her so-called _Dynasty,_ after I ensured that future Queens would serve and obey the Church.”

Mira put her good hand on Manaaki’s wrist, pushing hard against it. He wrapped his own arm around Mira and pulled her in closer, driving the bayonet so far into Mira that the hilt was touching her skin.

“I wonder if it’s a Mihaka thing… will your niece make the same face as you when I gut her too?”

Manaaki was trying to make Mira spend her final living moments as an emotional wreck, trying to savor and enjoy the kill, to make Mira’s pain and suffering drag out for as long as he could… all for the benefit of the Eater of Worlds.

Except that Mira wasn’t suffering, wasn’t emotional, and only felt a little pain. In fact, she was wearing the expression of someone who had just gotten the last laugh at someone else’s expense. She could feel the Eater of Worlds growing more and more impatient with every passing second. By all accounts, Mira was _actually_ dying. She’d been stabbed in the chest, had a broken arm, lost an eye, and also had an untreated bleeding head wound. However, at least for the moment, Mira was being kept alive by the last reserves of her own powers and by the intervention of the **_End of the Cycle_**.

Boredom and frustration gave way to anger and fury! At long last, the Eater of Worlds began to rebel against Manaaki! He let go of Mira, staggered backwards and grabbed his head with both hands, wracked by immense pain! At once Mira opened her fist, releasing all of her pent-up focus and Psionic energy. The bayonet shot out of her chest and landed on the ground with a thud. The wound in Mira’s chest closed up and her breath became unstuck as the internal damage was repaired. Gasping, Mira fell to her knees. That had been a much closer call than she wanted to admit.

Manaaki was desperate now. Just as Mira had hoped, he now tied all of his hopes for survival and victory on killing her. Mira raised her good hand in front of her face to conjure up a shield. Crouching low behind her Psi Shield for protection, Mira felt the onslaught commence.

The Holy Father bombarded Mira with Psionic attacks. The air around her became shrouded in flying mud and debris as though Mira was caught in some kind of invisible airstrike. A continuous column of violet light emanated from Manaaki’s body and enveloped Mira. After only a few seconds of this punishing assault, her shield broke.

Mira stood upright and kept her good arm in front of her face, devoting whatever powers she had left to deflecting, absorbing, repelling, and just generally surviving Manaaki’s attacks. He didn’t let up for a second, pummeling Mira with one assault after another. She was attacked telekinetically, but stayed on her feet. Her mind was invaded dozens of times, only to force Manaaki out each time. She was hit with Lances, shocked with Volts, and burned by Soulfire. Mira was subjected to almost every Psionic combat technique that science knew about. The muddy ground at Mira’s feet bubbled and boiled. The air around her cracked and sparked. Mira was battered, blasted, pummeled, and beaten, but remained unbowed.

After what felt like an eternity of attempted killings, Mira felt the intensity of Manaaki’s assault beginning to wane. The vigor and ferocity with which he had started attacking her was gone. Each Psi Volt or Lance now felt like he was just going through the motions… like he was postponing the inevitable.

And then the inevitable came.

Panting like a wounded animal, Manaaki tried to fire one last Psi Volt at Mira, but it fizzled and died in the air with a gentle crackling noise. The distant rumbling Mira had heard earlier was louder now. She was also aware of the pain. Every inch of her body was starting to hurt now. Manaaki, however, had a bigger problem. He had completely exhausted his Psionic powers. They were gone.

Also gone was any notion that he “controlled” the Eater of Worlds. Freed from its Psionic shackles at last, the Eater of Worlds utterly overthrew its “master.”

The very fabric of time and space tore, revealing a hole in the universe right between Mira and Manaaki! Like a black hole, everything in the immediate area began falling towards the Void Rift, including Manaaki, Mira, and Moana.

Mira grabbed Moana’s lifeless arm and started pulling her away from the Void Rift. Manaaki tried to run, but the Eater of Worlds, Whisperers in the Void, Composer of Strands, and Instrument of Desire all reached out from inside the Void Rift and seized him with the terrifying appendages of their true nightmare-inducing forms.

Screaming in panic, Manaaki grabbed for anything within reach. With one hand, he latched onto Moana’s leg; and with the other, he grabbed Mira’s broken arm. Mira shrieked with pain and tried to kick Manaaki in the face, but missed and fell to the ground. All three of them were sliding across the ground towards the Void Rift and the hellish oblivion waiting on the other side of it.

**_ DO NOT BRING THEM TO YOUR RECKONING. _ **

The End of the Cycle addressed Manaaki directly. Crying, pleading, begging, Manaaki called to Mira. He was so desperate that he said the first thing to come into his mind:

“You can’t let them take me! You’ve barely gotten to know your Gift! I can help you master it! You need me!”

_**DO NOT** BRING THEM TO **YOUR** RECKONING._

“PLEASE!! You’ll be alone without me! You won’t survive!!”

Moana’s eyes fluttered open. Barely conscious, she started struggling against Manaaki. Behind Mira, the rumbling noise had reached a volume where it could no longer be ignored! A voice cut through it!

“SHE IS NOT ALONE!!”

Three pairs of hands grabbed Mira around the shoulders and waist, pulling her and Moana away from the Void Rift. From Mira’s left, Tai stepped into view, his hair and clothes being whipped about him by the pull of the Void Rift. He grabbed Manaaki’s hand and wrenched hard, breaking the Holy Father’s grip on Mira. At the same time, Moana finally regained consciousness. Reaching across the ground, she grabbed her bayonet and brought it slashing down on Manaaki’s other arm, causing him to let go of her. Freed up to move, Mira aimed one last kick and hit the Holy Father in the face! Manaaki was pulled off the ground at last, screaming and wailing he disappeared into the Void Rift, which promptly closed like an eyelid, shrank into nothingness, and was gone.

The silence was deafening.

Slowly at first, then rapidly, Mira was finally overcome by pain. She had completely exhausted her own powers during that final stand, spending every last bit of Psi energy until nothing remained. Since they were no longer being suppressed, every one of her injuries began to compete for attention, making themselves known in no uncertain terms. Mira wasn’t really aware of falling over backwards and hitting the ground. She wasn’t aware of much anymore, aside from her pain being slowly replaced with a gentle warmth that covered her body like a blanket. Mira felt surprisingly comfortable, she might just fall asleep here…

If only someone would stop spraying her down with something cold.

Mira’s vision sharpened. Anahera was kneeling on the ground next to her, spraying the damaged side of Mira’s face with a Nanomedikit. The was an itchy sensation in Mira’s face as thousands of microscopic robots worked to cauterize her wounds, and her vision flashed as someone secured a medical eyepatch over her empty eye socket. Mira became aware of nearly half-a-dozen people moving around her, while next to her Moana sat upright and moaned,

“Oh, you guys took your time, didn’t you?”

Somewhere to Mira’s right, Kahu and Tai chuckled softly.

“You looked like you had everything under control, Ranginui.” Said Kahu, “I wasn’t going to steal your thunder.”

Looking around, Mira saw that several dozen Monarchist soldiers had come forward to secure the Command Center. While they breached the building, Tai and Kahu were helping Anahera unpack and deploy her medical gear.

“Ana…” Moana groaned, “How did you get here?”

“Bushranger crashed,” Anahera replied as she carefully placed Mira’s arm into a sling. “Rangi, Aranui, and I got picked up by Her Majesty when she started heading this way.”

Mira looked around. A massive convoy of military vehicles had arrived and the area was swarming with several hundred reinforcing soldiers. Wounded and dead alike were being recovered and carried off the field in truckloads. Amidst all of this Mira spotted Maki. Her niece was standing just outside the Command Center’s front door and watching as her soldiers stormed the complex. Maki was still wearing an army uniform, but her small stature caused her to stand out like a sore thumb against the ring of military bodyguards that tried to hide her from view.

Mira wrenched herself to her feet; ignoring Anahera’s protests, she staggered past Moana and approached Maki. Two of the bodyguards saw her coming and raised their weapons threateningly, but they were pushed aside by the young Queen, who ran forward to hug her aunt, only to stop at the sight of Mira’s injuries.

“Holy Miranda!” Maki squeaked, “Are you alright?!”

“No, of course not.” Mira answered. “But that doesn’t matter right now. What can I do to help you?”

Maki shook her head,

“Sit down, Aunt Mira. You’ve done plenty. Can you even see right now?”

Mira blinked her one remaining eye.

“What do you mean? Of course, I can see just fine.”

Maki took a cautious step back,

“Aunt Mira” she said, “Your eye… the good one… it’s not red anymore. It turned grey.”

There were no mirrors or windows around, so Mira just took Maki at her word. She already thought she knew why this had happened, anyway. Maki scratched her head.

“If it means anything,” Maki said, “You kinda look like Queen Kendra, you know... the Peacemaker.”

From inside the Command Center, Mira heard a great deal of yelling and shouting. There was a single gunshot, which caused the yelling to intensify, and then finally, a soldier’s voice called out through the open doorway:

“One enemy VIP in custody! Coming out the front door!

Six people wearing handcuffs were escorted out of the Command Center. Five of them were Green Guards, but the little girl at the end of the line drew all eyes to herself.

Aronui no longer looked like a Queen. Her white hair was knotted and stained with blood. Her wrists and hands were so emaciated that her cuffs were clearly about to fall off. Escape was apparently not on Aronui’s agenda, though. She stared forlornly at her feet as they shuffled along the muddy ground. A Monarchist soldier grabbed the 11-year-old “Queen” by the scruff of the neck and force-marched her across what had once been the Command Center’s front lawn. He was steering her directly towards Maki.

As Aronui was made to approach, Mira noticed the 13-year-old Queen was holding a pistol in her hand, and she quickly realized what might happen.

“Maki,” Mira gasped, “You’re not gonna… you’re not going to-?!”

“Why the hell not?” Maki asked, “You’ve done it. Moana and Rangi did it too. I’m gonna be a strong Queen, like Grandma wanted you to be! I’ll be strong for both of us. Isn’t that what you want?!”

Mira had completely forgotten that Maki was a child, and would follow the example set by adults around her. Maki hadn’t actually seen Mira kill anyone, but she still knew Mira had done the deed at least once; and now it seemed like she was going to try and follow in her Aunt’s bloody footsteps. Mira wondered if there was any way to stop Maki from going down this path, or if she was already too late.

Frantically, Mira tried to force her way into Maki’s mind, but her Psionic powers were gone forever. That route was closed. Aronui was about twenty Bios away. Mira desperately tried to think of something that might change Maki’s mind.

“Maki,” Mira started to say, but Maki interrupted,

“Quiet. You’ve done your part, Aunt Mira. Now let me do my job and end this war _like a real Queen_.”

There was nothing left. The final act was completely out of Mira’s hands. She could only watch as her niece came face to face with Aronui. In full view of nearly nine hundred Monarchist soldiers, the two rival Queens faced one another on the battlefield. Even though Manaaki’s influence over Aronui had ended, her personality and sense of self was still erased. A gloomy, emotionless expression was permanently etched onto Aronui’s face.

The False Queen didn’t even look Maki in the eyes, lifting her head to stare at Maki’s neck instead. Maki didn’t raise her pistol. She didn’t even put her finger inside the trigger guard. Maki spoke in a low voice that implied terrible consequences.

“Give it to me.”

Aronui’s handcuffs slid off as soon as she started moving her hands. With trembling fingers, she slipped the silver ring off her right index finger and held it out to Maki. The Whetu Kārerarera looked like it was stained with blood in the dim red light of the obscured sunlight. It fell from Aronui’s hand into Maki’s. As she slid the ring onto her own finger, Maki said;

“Who is the Queen of Partoga?”

“You are, your Majesty.” Aronui answered meekly.

Maki raised her pistol and pressed the barrel to Aronui’s chest. Mira tried to step forward, but a soldier caught her from behind and held her still.

“Look me in the eye,” Maki raised her voice, “And renounce your claim so that everyone can hear you!”

Aronui finally looked up. The orange-red light fully illuminated her face as she locked eyes with Maki.

“I don’t want to be Queen anymore!” Aronui’s voice, little though it was, carried a short way across the battleground. “I concede!”

Maki put both hands on her pistol…. And flipped a switch that dropped the magazine on the ground. As she lowered the weapon, Maki ejected the last round, which hit the mud with a pitiful noise. Aronui and Maki both relaxed.

“I’m so sick and tired of fighting.” Said Maki. She started speaking to Aronui, but turned to address the five remaining Green Guards.

“I’m sure everyone else is too.” She addressed the prisoners, “So, let’s do this like Kendra the Peacemaker did, alright? Amnesty and forgiveness for every man and woman who renounces Aronui and recognizes me as their Queen. Do you think that will get your comrades on other fronts to stop fighting?”

The last five Green Guards looked at one another, all nodding. Then one of them, a man no older than Mira, raised his arm to salute Maki and cheered loudly;

“Long live Emily! Long live the Queen!”

The celebratory chant was taken up by all of the surrounding soldiers. Their voices, their chants of “Long live the Queen!” echoed powerfully off the walls of Archer’s Canyon, rebounded across the pulverized slopes of the Unnamed Mountain, deflected off the dense ceiling of smoke and ash before returning to the blackened ground that had once been Fort Miranda.

Amidst the celebrations, Mira felt her strength waning again. She knew that she was probably going to collapse in a few minutes. Mira wasn’t sure if she’d ever wake up again, and there was just one thing left to do before then.

While Maki started organizing military messengers to spread word of the armistice, Mira slipped away from the group and climbed into the wreckage of the old chapel. Despite the loss of her powers, she seemed to know what was waiting for her inside.

The **_End of the Cycle _** was curled up on the floor near the altar like an animal in deep slumber. The Whisperers in the Void rested nearby. They both raised their heads as Mira approached. She was expecting whatever had happened to Manaaki to happen to her as well. When the seconds ticked by with no Void Rift appearing, Mira felt confused.

**_ THAT WAS HIS RECKONING. NOT YOURS. _ **

Mira was still confused.

“But, I’ve exhausted my powers…” she said, “There’s no way I can do what you want me to do.”

**_ THE END IS ALREADY HERE. _ **

The monster rose to its feet and regarded Mira one last time.

**_ THIS IS YOUR RECKONING. _ **

And then it was gone. Mira was alone with the Whisperers in the Void.

Neither could look the other in the eye. Finally, the Shroud-Being spoke first.

“So, you’ve ended the cycle. Well done.”

Mira looked up at her former Muse.

“What happens now?”

The Whisperers in the Void seemed to consider their words for a moment.

“Another Cycle will start.” They replied, “Life, the universe, and your reckoning will all continue.”

Mira sat down on one of the wrecked pews, pointed to her own head and asked,

“You _can’t_ come back, can you?”

“No.” The Whisperers in the Void answered. “You are exhausted. Fortunately, you upheld your end of the agreement with both us and **_them_** , so there is no need for you to join us. You allowed us an escape from that place, even if it was only temporary. We are grateful to you.”

A loud noise and some yelling outside the chapel caught Mira’s attention. She looked away for a brief moment to see what was going on, but when she looked back, the Whisperers in the Void had disappeared.

“Mira! Mira, where’d you go?”

Maki burst into the ruined chapel, two of her bodyguards behind her.

“There you are!” said Maki, clutching her chest and panting, “Don’t run away like that. What are you doing?”

Mira relaxed in her seat. It seemed like there was nothing left for Mira to do.

“Nothing. Just looking for a place to sleep.”

Mira closed her eyes and slipped into infinite silence and shadow.

 

 

Mira slowly regained consciousness. She was being carried across the battlefield on a stretcher. Two army medics were talking to someone else. Mira turned her head and saw that most of her friends were following her. Moana was being half-carried with one arm on Tai’s shoulder and another on Anahera’s as they walked the ground together a few paces behind Mira’s stretcher. Kahu and his father were leading the way, chatting excitedly and pointing up at something Mira couldn’t see. A platoon of soldiers ran past, going in the opposite direction to everyone else. Looking up, Mira saw the sky was now completely filled with pitch-dark clouds. Both air and spacecraft were landing and taking off from the battlefield in rapid succession.

A little hand squeezed hers. Mira had to turn her head most of the way over to see Maki out of her one remaining eye. Walking beside her was Captain Rangi, who looked thoroughly battered by the day’s action, and Anika Aranui; equally beaten up, but otherwise alive. Anika was also pointing at something on the horizon Mira couldn’t see.

“Maki.” Mira groaned,

Maki turned to look at Mira and gave her hand a much tighter squeeze.

“The medics are taking care of you,” Maki said, “They’ve stopped the bleeding and you’re not in any danger of dying, don’t worry.”

“Where are we going?” Mira’s voice was hoarse.

“Partoga City.” Maki answered, “You and your friends are going to take some time to rest and recover, and I’m going to actually rule my Kingdom. We just have to wait for the next ship. Put her down here!”

The medics set Mira down on some soft ground and then ran to the bottom of the hillside, where they deployed bright green flares to catch the attention of the Assault Frigate Dervish, which was hovering over the battlefield nearby. With the soldiers out of the way, Mira could finally see what everyone was pointing at and talking about. Maki followed Mira’s gaze and sighed.

“Yeah… that happened during the battle. No one noticed until after we got you out of the chapel.”

Mira stared open-mouthed and speechless at the awe-inspiring sight on the horizon:

The Unnamed Mountain had awoken. A narrow column of thick white clouds rose away from the summit, marking the spot where the sacred Crater Lake used to be. The holy waters from which nearly every Partogan had drunk were vaporized and sent into the sky as a great column of opaque steam. Further down the mountainside, slopes were being continuously devastated by rockslides and avalanches, ripping away the peaceful façade of a calm mountain and revealing the ruthless features of the volcano within… a volcano that had transcended the need for a name by killing almost everyone on the planet 687 years ago.

It was Riri Nui. _The Great Wrath._

Mira gazed at the steam rising from the summit of Riri Nui and her heart sank. She had almost certainly done that.

“Maki,” she started,

“Already thought about them,” Maki interrupted, “Dad and Grandpa are safe. I made some calls and they were picked up fifteen minutes ago. They’re being moved to the palace.”

Mira’s father and brother hadn’t even crossed her mind! She was so grateful that Maki had thought to save them, and Mira tried to say as much, but Maki just said,

“Save it for my coronation, alright?”

Mira, Maki, Tai, Moana, Anahera, Rangi, Anika, Kahu, and Prince Kahurangi all sat down in the grass and watched Riri Nui send even more steam into the sky. The sight was oddly satisfying, as though Riri Nui itself had also had some burden lifted from its shoulders. Tai laid down on Mira’s right and held her hand.

“Well, what happens now?” He asked, “Do we just wait for the end?”

Mira squeezed his hand back. She and her friends had survived disasters in deep space, ship-to-ship space battles, nuclear warfare, and a confrontation with a powerful Psionic warrior. After everything that had come before, Riri Nui just couldn’t scare Mira.

“This isn’t the end of anything.” She said, “Not by a long shot.”

Mira looked over at Maki, who was adjusting the silver ring on her finger. The Whetu Kārerarera sparkled in the afternoon light. Maki looked up from the green gemstone and stared defiantly at Riri Nui. She only looked away when the Dervish finally landed at the bottom of the hill and lowered its boarding ramp. Everyone got to their feet and made ready to leave. Mira pulled herself up and looked around at her friends. One by one, they tore their eyes away from the rousing volcano to face Mira and Maki.

“Everyone aboard!” Mira said, putting her good arm around Maki’s shoulder. “Maki’s reign is just starting. You don’t want to miss it, do you?”

 

\--------------------------

Epilogue

_30 Pipiri, 687 - HAPPY NAMING DAY!!_

_I don’t need a computer to make one last log entry. I’ve got a sheet of paper and a pencil!_

_It’s been 15 days since Maki put an end to the war. Moana and I both had to spend a few days in Mangatoki Hospital here in downtown Partoga but now we’re well enough to get up and walk around town. My arm is going to be in a cast for months, but at least I’ll get to use it again. There was nothing they could do for my eye. Guess I get to look like Queen Kendra the Peacemaker for the rest of my life. Anyway, ‘cause I lost my eye, I’m not allowed to fly in space anymore, but that’s okay._

_Some really good news: turns out the Mountain helped us end the war. Hundreds of soldiers saw Riri Nui threatening to erupt while Aronui was still wearing the Royal Ring. They spread the word that the Mountain disapproved of her and that it wanted Maki to be Queen instead. Since we defeated Manaaki at the same time, the priests of the Church of the Mountain had no choice but to go along with it. They couldn’t come up with any way to convince people that Riri Nui was still on their side. The rumor spread around quickly, and every single Theocrat surrendered by the end of the week._

_Riri Nui is still active. There are about 20 to 30 small earthquakes every day and just as many landslides or avalanches. They’re all small, but I think they’re getting more frequent as time goes on. Once in a while, some ash/smoke will come out of the summit. The Sacred Lake is gone, so Maki issued a Royal Decree saying that climbing the Mountain is no longer a requirement for becoming a legal adult. Now children become grownups on their fifteenth birthday automatically. It goes against the Church of the Mountain’s teachings, but they really aren’t in a position to argue these days. Now everyone knows they backed the losing side of the civil war and the Way of the Mountaineer itself is really unpopular planet-wide right now._

_But you know who is popular? My niece! Today is her coronation day! Of course this is just ceremonial. Maki’s been ruling the Kingdom on her own for 2 weeks now. She’s issued nearly a dozen Decrees and even started reforming the Royal Succession system. (No more elections!) Anika says there’s almost two million people crammed into the Royal Gardens outside the Great Library for the coronation later today. Most of them were camping in the gardens last night to try and get a good spot today. I feel a little sorry for them though, because the Mihaka family already has the best seats in the house! My Dad, my little bro Tai, Moana, and I will be right next to Maki for the big moment. Oh! I totally forgot to mention that! With Manaaki and Timati gone and the rest of her family in prison, Moana’s kind of an orphan. So, Maki and I decided to adopt her into the Mihaka family. That’s part of the reason why Maki’s coronation is happening on Naming Day: Moana’s changing her last name from Ranginui to Mihaka._

_Oh, there’s so much I want to say, so many stories to tell... but I’m running out of paper and I have to leave in an hour, so I guess this is where I have to stop. The Midak crew officially disbanded yesterday, so we’re all having one last get-together before we part ways. Even if none of us ever see each other again, I won’t forget any of them. After everything we’ve been through, they’re no less my family than the rest._

_Time to say goodbye, I guess._

_Signing off -_

_Mira Mihaka, 1st Crown Princess and Heir Presumptive of the Kingdom of Partoga_

**_ THE END. _ **


End file.
